The Other McCawber Girl Part II
by DarkwingPsycho
Summary: When Ariana met Negaduck... Two very different avians with tragic pasts cross paths, resulting in an interesting, and very surprising, relationship. Is the villain really who he appears to be? Or is it all part of an elaborate scheme? Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note_: If you haven't already, it would probably be beneficial to read Part I before moving on to Part II -- just for, y'know, flow n' stuff. THIS ISN'T EVEN ON MY WEBSITE YET, SO YOU GUYS ARE GETTING A REAL TREAT HERE! Please let me know what you think so I can revise what needs to be revised before I DO put it up on the site. THANK YOU!!

**Disclaimer:** Negaduck and Morgana McCawber are copyright the Walt Disney Company and are used without permission. Everyone else was doing it! :P  
Ariana McCawber is copyright ME, Amanda Rohrssen (DarkwingPsycho). Please do not use her character or her likeness without my consent.

* * *

**_Part II: Embrace the Darkness  
_Chapter Six**

_Don't let 'em get where they're going to,  
__You know they're only what they think of you,  
__You heard of this emotional trickery,  
__And you felt like you were learning the ropes,  
__But where you're going now you don't know_

_And when the kids on the street say  
__What's your problem girl,  
__And the weight of their smile's just  
__Too much for you to bear,  
__When they all make you feel  
__Like you're a problem girl  
__Remember  
__You're no problem at all  
__You're no problem at all_

_Pride like promises can let you down,  
__You thought that you'd be feeling  
__Better by now  
__You worry all the things they could do to you,  
__You worry about the things they could say,  
__Maybe you're seeing things the wrong way  
__Try,  
__If you stand or you fall,  
__You're no problem at all  
_Rob Thomas, "Problem Girl"

She stopped when her feet began to ache. Duckburg sat on the black horizon, a glittering hive buzzing with activity from which she had been expelled. The pavement beneath her feet was cold, and the touch of it covered her with goose bumps. Unsurprisingly, it began to rain. She barely noticed; she had grown numb to the outside world. Consuming her mind instead were feelings of foolishness, guilt, anger, loss…emotions that gripped her senses and allowed no freedom to worry about shelter or what her next move was going to be.

Tears rolled silently down her cheeks as recent events played over and over in her thoughts, and she grew frustrated that all of her good intentions had been distorted and turned against her. While deep down Ariana was glad to be away from Krysten, she had the intense feeling that she deserved the way Krysten had treated her – just as she deserved the way her father had treated her. In her weary, disillusioned eyes, she felt as if she had failed them both, and now she was paying the penalty. She deserved to be out here in the darkness alone, wet, and freezing with her few meager possessions; she deserved every nasty comment anyone had made to her; she deserved being manipulated and taken advantage of; and she deserved to be shunned for what she was - a monster.

The thought made her snap out of the reverie, and taking in her surroundings she found that she had just started to cross the Audubon Bay Bridge. It was the landmark that separated Duckburg from another city, but she couldn't quite recall which one.

Had burning tears not blurred her eyes and had her thoughts not spiraled into self-loathing, it would have been a beautiful sight to see the city at the end of the bridge. Its towering skyscrapers winked through the misty fog that rolled over the bay, shrouding the metropolis in a thin gray curtain, and it seemed to glow with its own inner light. The cityscape was illuminated as if it were on center stage for all the world to see.

Ariana set her box of belongings on the sidewalk beside the bridge wall, but not before lifting out the framed photograph, its picture distorted in the little drops of rainwater that had gathered across it. She pulled herself up to sit on the bridge's ledge so that she was facing the murky waters and stared down at the photo while the rain insistently pricked her back, head, and shoulders like sharp-tipped needles.

Still, the weather was nothing compared to the turmoil Ariana felt within as she wiped the drops away from the picture with her thumb.

Krysten smiled up at her, skates slung over her shoulder, and Ariana felt another pang of guilt. Another friendship was down the drain.

_The frigid December wind wove through Ariana's long hair, sending it into the air like a stream of golden honey. As she filled her lungs with the fresh, cool air, she closed her eyes and thought of home. The snow was packed hard where countless people before her had tread, but where she could she stepped on newly fallen snow so she could feel the flakes – light and powdery – on her feet. She hadn't worn shoes; she hated to wear shoes and avoided it for as long as she could. It was the perfect weather to seek out an ice skating pond. A pair of ice skates was slung over her shoulder, and she sang a happy tune quietly to herself. That is, until a familiar voice cut into her thoughts._

"_Hey kid! Ariana! Hey!"_

_The voice was loud and impatient, with an undertone of arrogance._

_Ariana grimaced, then forced herself to smile. She felt guilty when she reacted to Krysten like that. After all, Krysten was the only person who seemed to want to be her friend, and Ariana felt a sense of dutifulness toward her – that she should be grateful for Krysten's friendship._

_Footsteps neared, then Krysten was at her side, decked out in a brand new coat, hat, mitten, and scarf._

"_What're you doing out here?" Ariana asked, making an effort to keep the disappointment out of her voice._

"_Uh, _duh_," Krysten sneered, "_skating_." She held up her own set of skates by the shoelaces._

"_Oh." Ariana felt her cheeks reddening with humiliation – a feeling that had become almost synonymous with Krysten's presence._

"_Woody and I were just out there. He had to get to work, and I was gonna go home, but then I saw you."_

_Ariana knew Krysten well enough to know a self-invitation when she heard one, and though she would rather have skated alone, she didn't protest. It all went back to feeling ungrateful should she deny Krysten anything, even if it meant she was miserable. She didn't want to lose the only friend she had._

"_Do you skate a lot?" asked Ariana as she joined Krysten on one of the benches surrounding the frozen pond. She was somewhat surprised to learn that she and Krysten shared an interest in something._

"_Hey, I'm thirsty," Krysten remarked, ignoring Ariana's question. "You wanna get me a Coo-Coo Cola?" She shoved a couple of bills in Ariana's face._

_Ariana stared at them for a few moments, not quite comprehending the sudden demand right off, then reluctantly took them. "Where at?"_

"_Over there," came Krysten's reply as she began tying up her skates._

_For the third time in five minutes, heat rose to Ariana's cheeks, yet still she said nothing and did what Krysten wanted. She would do almost anything to avoid confrontation._

_When Ariana returned and gave Krysten her change, she sat down to put her own skates on._

"_Hurry up; what's the problem? Forget how to tie shoelaces?"_

_Underneath the cloak of hair circling her bent head, Ariana scowled in spite of herself. Tightening the last knot, she swallowed her emotions, stood up, brushed back her hair, and smiled. "Ready?"_

"_Yeah, an hour ago, come on!" Krysten snatched Ariana's wrist and pulled her eagerly toward the frozen lake. "I was really good at this when I was younger, along with a lot of other sports. Won all kinds of awards and contests…You ever skate before, kid?"_

"_A couple of times…" was Ariana's hesitant reply._

"_Eh, you'll get the hang of it after a while. Just watch me." Krysten skated a little way out, then turned expectantly toward Ariana. "Come on, you can do it."_

_Flushing yet again, Ariana tried to remind herself that she was overreacting – that Krysten didn't _mean_ to be condescending; that was simply the kind of person Krysten was._

_Obediently Ariana stepped out onto the ice, but she skated past Krysten rather than toward her, letting herself get reacquainted with the feel of the ice beneath her feet._

_It wasn't long before Krysten was back at her side._

"_You're all right, kid, but I'll bet you can't do this!" Suddenly she took off like a shot, weaving around other skaters toward an open spot, then whipped around and glided backwards, making the shape of a figure eight in her wake. As she made her way back toward Ariana, her expression was smug and challenging. She laughed haughtily._

_The sound made Ariana want to crawl into a hole. But at the same time, a small, defiant flame sprang to life deep within her._

_Wordlessly she struck out toward an open patch of ice, skating gracefully, effortlessly, over the frozen liquid as if she were merely flowing through the crystalline veins along the surface. From the moment she slid into her first spin, everything else faded away. Krysten was far away. The only things she was aware of were the sounds of her skates scraping gently against the slush as she cut her own way in the ice and the feel of the wind streaming through her hair._

_Here on the ice, she was free; freer than any bird, freer than any creature of the deep. She could make her own path, follow her feelings, let go of herself. It was as close to flight as she could get._

_A crowd had gathered, watching her, but she remained unaware of their stares, unaware that she now had the lake all to herself, unaware of the complete change that seemed to have come over her. It was only when she realized her eyes had been closed that she allowed them to open slowly in mid-twirl and caught sight of a set of beautiful brown eyes. Though she'd only met them for a split second, it felt like eons. It was like an electric jolt to her insides. Unfortunately, at that exact moment her skate hit a rough patch of ice, and she was pitched forward, skidding across the frozen water, bits of ice biting through her flesh._

_A gasp fluttered through the crowd followed by a few snickers. Then one particularly loud guffaw reached Ariana's ears, making her head begin to pound unbearably. Krysten skated toward her, her laughter continuing even as she was helping Ariana to her feet._

"_Not a graceful one, are you?" she said sardonically._

"_I'm fine, thanks," Ariana muttered under her breath._

"_That was some show you put on there. You'll have to show me how you do that sometime."_

_Ariana blinked. Had Krysten just…complimented her? The idea left her momentarily struck dumb. She could only smile as Krysten draped one of Ariana's arms around her shoulders and helped her off of the ice._

Until then she had kept her mind blank, pushing away any thoughts or memories or feelings, and the same twinge of panic, fear, betrayal, and rejection that had followed her from Transylvania pricked her insides. She couldn't stay in Duckburg any more than she could have stayed in the village. She had already been labeled, and there was no one to defend her name. It didn't surprise her much to find herself in this position yet again, but it was disappointing. She had had such high hopes.

With a heavy heart, she sank to the curb and rested her elbows on her knees. Beside her sat everything she had in the world. More raindrops splattered against the glass of the frame, distorting the shape of her face as it smiled out at her from beside Krysten's in the photograph.

Why was it that no matter what she did she couldn't seem to keep a friend for very long?

The more she thought about it, the more depressed she became. Even so, she and Krysten smiled out at her from the picture. It seemed to be mocking her pain, parading the ideals of friendship as if the whole thing were just a show and that underneath, the surface was as empty and cold as the wind that was blowing through Ariana's feathers. She began to grow bitter.

_Why do I even bother?_

_Because,_ that rational voice in her mind interrupted, _faith is the essence of happiness. Keep searching, and you will find what you are looking for. Just have faith._

But I don't have anywhere to go…

She sat for a few minutes more, mulling over her options, and as she did so, her eyes lighted on a highway sign. Duckburg was to her right and a city in the distance to her left. The cars whizzing by her hadn't registered in her senses until now, their wind trails seemingly urging her after them. Squinting, she rose to her feet to read the highway sign carefully.

Saint Canard 3

_Morgana…_ she thought with some relief, recognizing the name of the city across the water. As much as she didn't want to impose on her sister, Ariana knew she had no other alternative. With a defeated sigh she hoisted the box up into her arms and trudged along the sidewalk, the backs of her eyes throbbed with a sharp pain.

Again. She was going to have to start over again.

* * *

A couple of hours had passed, and Ariana found herself in the middle of what looked to be the seedy side of town. The buildings lining the vacant, cracking streets were boarded up, ready for demolition. Graffiti littered the alleyways, and the dim streetlamps flickered in warning.

To her right, drunken howls cut through the otherwise silent night, and a duo of alcoholics stumbled out of a nearby tavern that appeared to be a few years away from condemnation. Locked in a brawl, they tumbled to the sidewalk right in front of Ariana, swinging their fists wildly at one another. Her body went rigid in fright, and she stared at the battling boozers hoping neither one would notice her. As they slurred insults at each other, she carefully sidled around them and continued down the uneven sidewalk, occasionally glancing over her shoulder as she went.

The farther Ariana headed into this shady scene, the more she wanted to turn back around and leave. The problem was she didn't know the way back. She'd taken so many turns in this foreign city that it was impossible to retrace her steps. The worst of it was, she didn't know Morgana's address, so even if she had enough courage to ask one of the sleazy characters around here for directions, she wouldn't have known to _where_ the directions should lead.

Her beak opened wide in a yawn, and she could tell by the night sky that it was just past midnight. She would need to find somewhere to rest soon, preferably somewhere hidden. It unnerved her to be in this decaying, foreboding place, but it was getting too late and she was getting too tired to keep moving.

Finally, she stopped in front of one of the abandoned warehouses that faced the wharf and decided to find a hiding place inside to put up for the night.

* * *

Maniacal, insane laughter echoed in the city streets in a cyclone of madness, making it impossible to pinpoint just where it was coming from. To those who recognized the sound, however, the location of it was not important – it was the source of it. In a panic, they dodged inside buildings, alleyways, even dumpsters merely to get out of sight before _he_ arrived. The Bad Part of Town was especially tame when the roar of a motorcycle joined the gravelly giggling, and a figure dressed in a yellow suit, red fedora, and black cape came tearing down the street. His chilling laugh would have made even the stoutest of hearts shiver.

Abruptly the tires squealed in agony against the pavement. Something had caught his attention.

With a cruel sneer, he approached a small, half-starved puppy cowering behind a garbage can.

"Aww," he crooned snidely, "a little lost puppy. I know just what to do with you." He picked the tiny canine up and patted its head. Its tongue lolled out contentedly, and then it gave a sharp yelp as Negaduck suddenly drop-kicked it, sending it sailing through the air. "Get outta my territory, you mutt!" he yelled after it before allowing himself a congratulatory chuckle.

So far he'd managed to knock over a couple of banks, bomb a stock broker's office, vandalize the local library, and shake down an entire Girl Scout troop for their cookie money – and it was only noon. It was certainly turning out to be a promising day.

Continuing through the dilapidated section of St. Canard, Negaduck finally decided on one of the abandoned warehouses along the wharf to pose as his next hideout. Parking the Troublemaker, he unloaded his loot and marched toward the nearest boarded up entrance. He paused momentarily to size up the 2 X 4's, then heaved the heavy sack around and knocked it flat against the door, splintering the makeshift barricade. Smirking, he slid the massive bundle over his shoulder again and made his way inside.

* * *

A tiny clicking noise and the spine-tingling feel of metal against her forehead jarred Ariana from sleep, and she found herself face-to-face with a pistol.

"I hope you enjoyed your nap," a cold, menacing voice sneered tauntingly from behind the weapon, "because it was your last."

She sat up quickly, surprise straining her petite face. Her assailant jerked the gun back on her, and her eyes drifted to the iron nozzle.

"Any last words, trespasser?" he rasped emotionlessly. The gleam in his eyes betrayed the sheer pleasure he was feeling, mismatching the deadly calm in his voice.

As her initial shock faded, Ariana stared wordlessly at the gun with no trace of fear. Certainly there was intimidation, but she did not tremble. She had been threatened with guns enough that they no longer instilled that instinctual fear of death or pain. Instead, she lifted her eyes from the pistol and they now bored steadily, searchingly, into her attacker's face. Why hadn't he shot her yet?

"Well?" he demanded, her lack of terror making him angry and a bit unstable.

Still, she said nothing. If she was going to die here and now at the hands of this murderer, then so be it; she would simply accept her fate.

Her entire body relaxed, and she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable gunshot.

A different sound, however, pierced the tense air like screaming missile - a booming, threatening, hate-filled sound that cut to her inner core and jolted her to her feet in an instant - a scream of pure, unadulterated rage.

"_GET OUT!_"

A bullet went rocketing to the ceiling in the wake of the deafening roar as Negaduck's bloodshot eyes narrowed at Ariana. His chest heaved as he inhaled for another furious outburst, but she didn't have to be told twice.

She tore out of the building like a bolt of lightening, her legs pumping in a frenzy across countless city streets, the rough pavement tearing mercilessly at the bottoms of her feet. Remnants of that horrible scream played through her mind over and over as she weaved desperately through the dense throng of normals packing the sidewalks like cattle.

When the dregs of irrational panic finally ebbed, Ariana slowed to a stop and realized she was in an upstanding business district. Soon her mind caught up with her feet, and she wondered to herself just who that dangerous gunman had been. Had he really been going to shoot her? He had called her a trespasser…

Her thoughts on the stranger halted when a different matter rose once again to mind and drove all others away. Her heart sank. She still didn't know how to get to Morgana's, and now she had nothing in the world save the clothes on her back. It was Transylvania all over again. She was back where she had started, and this time she was less inclined to strike out on her own. She knew she wouldn't be able to deal with trying to build a new life yet again with no one to help her stay on her feet. Duckburg had made sure of that. If she couldn't find Morgana…

The bitter metallic taste of blood spilled warm in Ariana's mouth as she bit into her lip to hold back the anxious tears. It all seemed so hopeless.

Trapped in her tragic thought cycle, she didn't see the tall red-haired duck waltz out of a nearby hardware shop until she'd successfully stepped on his heel.

"Ye-ouch!" he yelped, nearly dropping the bags in his arms.

"Oh my goodness – I'm so sorry!" she cried apologetically, rushing forward.

The duck turned around with a good-natured smile on his large, exuberant features.

"Ah, that's okay. I know ya didn't mean to."

A worrisome frown remained on Ariana's face as if she expected him to suddenly change his mind and explode on her at any minute.

He smiled again, this time reassuringly.

"Hey, there's no reason to feel bad! Though if ya wanted to meet me _that_ bad ya could've just tapped me on the shoulder," he joked with a wink. "Name's Launchpad," he continued, shifting his sacks to one arm so he could stretch a friendly hand toward her, "Launchpad McQuack."

A subtle rosiness climbed to her cheeks as Ariana accepted Launchpad's handshake.

"I-I'm Ariana," she started, clearly taken aback by his genuinely open and amiable personality.

"Nice to meetcha, Ariana," he replied. "New in town?"

She didn't answer him right away, momentarily held silent by some irrational fear of what might happen if she did admit to her recent arrival. Casting the concerns of her timidity aside, she smiled helplessly and nodded in reply to his question.

He returned the smile sympathetically.

"It's okay, I've only been in St. Canard a few years myself. Where ya headed?"

"My sister's house," she said, feeling more at ease, "but I don't know how to get there."

"Maybe I can help," Launchpad offered. "Who's your sister?"

"Morgana McCawber."

"Oh sure! I know her! She lives a couple a blocks that way, third house on the right. Ya can't miss it!"

Ariana's eyes lit up as sheer jubilation and gratitude streaked through her tiny body. "Oh, thank you so much! I'm very glad to have met you!"

"No problemo!" he returned amiably before adding, "I'd walk ya there myself, 'cept I gotta get this stuff home. But hey, maybe I'll see ya 'round sometime! Say hi to – what was your sister's name again?"

"Morgana!" Ariana called over her shoulder, already making her way down the sidewalk. "Morgana McCawber!"

It was sheer luck that she turned around just in time to miss Launchpad's face drain of color as if he'd just contracted a deadly virus.

13 DeSpell Lane. The street name brought back unwanted memories for Ariana. A rock seemed to have wedged itself into her throat as she fought against the unbidden recollections of dimes and criminals. She rang the doorbell. The suddenly chill and gloomy air was filled with a melancholy and foreboding rendition of the funeral march, played on an organ. The morbid humor reminded Ariana of home, and she braced herself for yet another gush of memories when Morgana answered the door.

Lightening abruptly streaked across the malevolent sky, casting a brief, blinding flash on the woman who stood in the doorway, and a cacophonous roar of thunder soon followed. Even in the faint illumination of the porch, Ariana could feel her eyes lock with her sister's. They had not seen one another for two years. In the silence she was almost afraid that Morgana was not very happy to see her. Her fears were quickly dispelled, however, when her sister suddenly leaped forward and wrapped her arms around her.

"Ari!"

Tears of happiness sprang to the younger McCawber's eyes as she returned the eager hug and grinned from ear to ear. She was so overjoyed that she couldn't speak. Seeing her sister again, she felt some semblance of peace for the first time since leaving Transylvania.

"How have you been? _Where_ have you been?" Morgana cried. "Oh, come inside and tell me everything! It's been so long since I've seen my little sister!"

It was so good to feel welcome again. Following Morgana over the dark threshold, Ariana took time to gaze around the interior of the manor before the inevitable barrage of questions began.

Every room was blanketed in the heavy, mystic glow of candlelight and the dim, ghostly halo of ancient electric bulbs. Elaborate rugs covered the ashen floors, the patterns seeming to leap and tumble over the fabric in a haunting dance of candle flames. The walls were decorated with spider webs, moving-eye portraits, and gloomy tapestries. One portrait in particular that hung in what had to be the study caught Ariana's eye as she peered through the doorframe from her spot in the entryway.

"Let's go in here," Morgana rushed on excitedly, leading Ariana in the opposite direction toward what appeared to be the living room. She sat down on one end of a stately violet sofa, and Ariana followed suit. "Father told me what happened…well, his side of it anyway," she corrected herself. "He refuses to even allow your name to be spoken in his presence. If you ask me he's just being childish. So what _really_ happened?"

Ariana tensed ever so slightly before taking a deep breath and starting from the beginning.

"Well…you remember when I graduated from school…?"

_It had been only a few days since she had graduated from the Webminster Academy of the Dark Arts, and her father was still aglow with pride and the prospect of what the future held for him and his prodigy of a daughter. Ariana relished the positive attention and the affection he so suddenly bestowed on her, but she was intuitive enough to recognize that his love was for the raw power she had learned to harness and not for the woman she had grown into. Still, she told herself she didn't care. She would have done almost anything to win his approval._

_Today Moloculo seemed particularly anxious to begin the traditional father-daughter lesson that they had been doing together since she had been four years old. He bustled into the dungeon room carrying a rolled up parchment, his red eye gleaming in the eerie candlelight._

"_I've summoned the entire McCawber clan; they should be here by tomorrow morning! Everything is in place save for one little detail."_

"_What's that, Father?" Ariana asked immediately, forcing enthusiasm into her voice._

"_I will teach you one last spell, one that they won't teach you at any school."_

_Now Ariana's curiosity was peaked. She waited restlessly, more excited at the idea of spending time with her father than learning yet another enchantment._

"_Only the most powerful of magic-wielders can perform it," he continued. "The utter magnitude of what it does can disintegrate those who are unworthy of its power from the inside out."_

_At the frightened look on Ariana's face, Moloculo chuckled and held up a reassuring hand._

"_But you…_you_ are far more advanced that any magic-wielder in history, the likes of which Transylvania has never seen and isn't likely to see again for many lifetimes. You will be able to perform this spell with a mere snap of your fingers." His face looked almost bloodthirsty in the dim light._

_She swallowed her fear, which quickly made her nauseous. Simultaneously, his compliment made her smile and blush a little. "What does it do?"_

"_It kills as many or as few as the caster wants…and it rips the soul apart so there is no chance for reincarnation or resurrection. In other words…it gives you the power of Death."_

_The room grew hazy all of a sudden and began to tilt at many odd angles all at once. Ariana could scarcely see straight as her father's words rolled through her head, their meaning becoming more incomprehensible each time they resounded in her ears. _

"_W-what?" she managed, refusing to believe he was actually saying this to her. She scrabbled for the table to support her lest her legs give out beneath her._

"_We're going to kill them. _All_ of them. I will have blood for blood, and I want you to be the one to do it. I'm so _proud_ of how powerful you've become, and I'm sure you'll make me even _more_ proud once we're fighting those despicable normals side by side! Now, come over here and we'll get started." He turned and began thumbing through a large, ancient spellbook._

_Ariana stood frozen in place, her mouth slightly agape. Pillaging and destroying property was one thing, and even then Ariana hadn't really believed he'd actually do it, but murder?_

"_I won't go through with it…" she said meekly, barely above a whisper. She was terrified of what his reaction would be, but she knew she had to say something._

"_What's that?" Moloculo questioned, pausing in mid-action with an eager gleam still in his eye._

_Ariana took a deep breath and repeated in a louder, steadier voice, "I said, I won't go through with it."_

"_What do you _mean_ you won't go through with it?!" Moloculo raged, taking two strides toward his daughter and glaring down at her through both his glass eye and his good eye._

"_I . . . I don't want to hurt anyone . . ." she cringed, backing up against the wall like a rabbit cornered by a rabid hound._

_Moloculo sighed heavily. "There is no other _way_, Ariana. Something must be done to show them that monsters are _not_ to be trifled with!" He put a hand on her shoulder. "How else do you expect to get revenge for what they did?"_

"_That's not what she would have wanted . . ." Ariana ventured, turning her face away from her father._

"_Don't talk back to me! This is what we've been _working_ for all these years! Are you just going to throw that away?"_

_She felt her resolve weaken at the disappointment and disapproval in his voice._

"_I . . . that's not what I . . . there has to be another way . . ." She rubbed her arm anxiously, her stomach twisting like a sponge._

"_There is not. Now stop this foolishness."_

_A minute burst of resentment spurred within her. "It is not foolishness . . ." she muttered._

"_Oh, but it is." He clenched his fists, his eyes narrowing to slits. "You're _my_ daughter, and you'll do as I say!"_

_Ariana shrank back as far as the stone wall would allow, her eyes looking up at Moloculo with fearful determination._

"_Father, I . . . It's not right . . . I won't help you hurt them!"_

"_You will if I _say_ you will!" he snarled. "Even if I have to use _force_! I will _not_ let it go without a fight, _do you understand me_!?"_

"_But-"_

"_NO!"_

_He struck her hard across the mouth, drawing a bit of blood at the corner. Her eyes burned with an even greater defiance, a part of her that had long been buried beneath years of diffidence and a desperate need to feel loved._

"_I won't! I believe there are good people out there, but you have judged them all without knowing them – as they have so unfairly judged us! I would rather live one _week_ as a normal than succumb to the empty, hate-driven, immortal life that you so covet!" She bit back her tongue then, realizing all too late that she had gone too far._

_Moloculo stood towering over her, heaving with fury._

"_Get. Out. Of. My. House," he snarled slowly, enunciating each word with venomous deliberation._

_Her heart faltered within her breast. The world stopped spinning. She could scarcely breathe. It was her greatest fear come to life._

"_Father…"_

"_You are no daughter of mine. Now be gone from my sight, you wretched girl, and never set foot _near_ a McCawber for as long as you live."_

"_But…but Daddy…"_

"**OUT!**_" He grabbed her upper arm and jerked her through the castle, ignoring her sobbing pleas, his long and bony fingers digging into her fair, feathery skin. "And don't you DARE come back!" he shrieked one final time before throwing her outside with all his might. "I _banish_ you! Live with your precious normals and be _gone_!" The heavy oaken doors slammed in her face, and with that sound Ariana's heart shattered._

"Why didn't you come to me first?" demanded Morgana. "You know I would've understood."

"I know…I didn't want you to get into any trouble with Father for taking me in."

"But why now? Father's still pretty upset, especially since his raid on the village was a disaster. His magic isn't what it used to be."

"I guess I hoped that by now he'd have cooled off at least a _little_…"  
"Well, Father _can_ be a bit stubborn."

"Morgana…I don't have anywhere else to go. I'm sorry to drop in on you like this, but I've got no friends, no job, no money…"

"Father's not the only reason you didn't come to me sooner," Morgana observed flatly with the hint of a smirk on her bill.

Ariana flushed. Morgana knew her too well.

"No. I wanted to see if I could make it on my own in the normal world…and you can see how brilliantly _that_ worked out."

"So where _did_ you go?"

"Duckburg. I got a loan from Scrooge McDuck, and –"

"McDuck? _Scrooge_ McDuck?" Morgana repeated, obviously stunned.

Ariana frowned slightly. "Y-yes…why?"

"Never mind, it's not important."

She opened her mouth to ask further, but decided against pressing the issue, no matter how much her curiosity burned to know.

"Why don't we talk more about this later? Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

As soon as Morgana spoke, two bats flew into the room carrying a platter of finger food (literally) and squawking. Ariana immediately swallowed her declination and grinned.

"Eek! Squeak! Oh, I've missed you two so much!" Within seconds she was on her feet and scratching both bats under their chins with a doting expression. "I'm glad to see that you had them all this time, Morgana. I was afraid Father might have set them loose or worse after what happened. Thank you so much; it looks like you've taken great care of them."

"My pleasure…" her sister replied, but Ariana didn't see the devious smile that lingered on Morgana's bill.

"How's your familiar? I hope mine weren't too much trouble since you had him to take care of, too."

"Archie's fine; we were glad to have the extra help. Weren't we, Archie?" Morgana asked sweetly to the spider that had just crawled onto the arm of the sofa. He waggled a leg at her and grumbled incoherently. "Besides, what are sisters for?"

At this Ariana beamed. The McCawber sisters were like best friends, reunited. How she wished she _had_ gone straight to Morgana rather than foolishly believing she could have made it in the normal world alone. It would have saved her so much heartache.

"I'm just so glad to see you all again…it's quite a relief to see friendly faces after –" Here Ariana broke off, feeling the angry hurt rise in her throat again as she remembered the reason she was even there.

Morgana quickly changed the subject. "You can stay in the guest room upstairs."

It was then that she noticed Ariana's lack of baggage.

"Didn't you bring anything?"

Now Ariana looked like she might cry at any moment. Morgana mentally chastised herself.

"Well, you can use my things until we can get you your own. Come on, the room's this way."

* * *

_Winter had long since battered the Transylvanian landscape with a barrage of snowstorms and frigid, turbulent winds screaming with hail and ice. The skies were perpetually overcast and gray, and the bare trees stood black and razor-sharp against the bleak horizon like foreboding spears thirsting for blood. It was her mother's favorite time of year._

_Today was different from any other winter day, however. In fact, it was to be such an extraordinary day that it would imprint itself in the minds of those who were there, and all would have differing perspectives on just what that day had set in motion._

_Ariana sat alone in a corner of the castle, playing quietly with a toy that looked like it was straight out of Quackerjack's factory. Per Moloculo's insistence, it was the only present she had received on this, her fourth birthday, and she loved it with all her heart. It was a stuffed demon plush with a forked tongue, long red horns, and a pointed tail, and its mouth spewed fire when the horns were pulled back. Interestingly enough, when squeezed around the middle, the stuffed toy inverted itself and became an angel with golden wings and a matching halo that, when pushed down, played a heavenly melody. Everybody in the household cringed whenever the little song chimed. It was hideous. Moloculo soon wished he and his wife had picked out a different toy, as Ariana seemed to prefer the loathsome and deformed angel to the properly wicked, scornful demon. In fact, she laughed with delight whenever the halo sprang up in place of the crimson horns. It just wasn't right, and it made Moloculo suspect that there was more wrong with his daughter than met the eye. It unnerved him._

"_Hi, baby, having a good birthday?"_

_Ariana smiled up at her mother and nodded, clutching the toy against her so that the demon popped out._

"_Do you want to go on a little trip with Mommy?"_

"_Where?" the child asked breathlessly, already on her feet with anticipation._

"_Just down to the village. I need to pick up a few things from one of the farmers."_

"_Okay!"_

_Seconds later they were hand in hand heading down to the quiet parish at the foot of the hill upon which their castle stood. Ariana loved going anywhere with her mother. In fact, Ariana just loved being _with_ her mother._

"_Here for the usual, Mrs. McCawber?" a portly stork drawled, feathered hands wrapped around his suspenders. A straw hat sat primly on his narrow head, the edges fraying and casting a shadow over his eyes. He was dressed for harvest even though it was the middle of winter._

"_Yes, Frank," she replied kindly. "Ari, why don't you go out back and play with Isaac until I'm finished."_

_Ariana stared up at her mother for a few moments before slowly doing as she'd been asked. Her tiny feet trudged over the slushy mud, and she kept her head low and her shoulders hunched as if gravity was somehow double for her. Against her chest she clutched her birthday present, the angel now, until she cautiously made her way around the corner of the barn. And stopped dead._

_There was something lying on the ground a few feet away, unmoving and furry. She recognized the dog right away as belonging to the boy Isaac. With careful steps she came toward it, expecting it to spring up and bark at her as soon as it caught her scent. She was confused when it continued to lay in the mud, motionless. Then she noticed the gunshot wounds, a large chunk of the dog's chest blown away in a mass of gore and flesh. The sight didn't grossly affect her, as carnage was something she had been desensitized to merely by being around members of her family, but she did feel a sting of pity for the creature._

_Remembering how much Isaac had loved to play with the dog, she thought he was probably sad that the dog wasn't able to play anymore. She felt so overwhelmed with grief for Isaac and how he must feel that she actually began to cry. Gingerly she sat down on a nearby snowdrift and placed her small cherub hands on the dog's coarse coat, wet with snow and mud, the muscles underneath stiff with rigor mortis, and began stroking the carcass sadly, wishing that she could do something to bring the beloved pet back for Isaac._

_The more she wished, the more she touched the dog, and soon both of her hands were tenderly holding its head. She closed her eyes, yearning intensely for the dog to wake up._

_The next thing she was aware of were the horrified screams of the villagers and the abominable sound of a rabid, demented animal snarling and barking._

"_We never should have trusted you monsters!" She could hardly make out the farmer's accusatory snarl above the hysteria. "My son was almost _killed _because of that creature!"_

_Arms encircled her and lifted her out of the cold._

"_She's just a child!" her mother's voice pleaded against Ariana's head. "She didn't know what she was doing!"_

_As darkness consumed her conscious again, the last thing she focused on as her mother carried her away from the chaos was her birthday present. The demon, grinning its gleeful and hideous grin at her from a puddle of darkened, muddy snow._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Seven**

_A New Life -  
What I wouldn't give to have a new life!  
One thing I have learned as I go through life:  
Nothing is for free along the way!_

_A new start -  
That's the thing I need to give me new heart -  
Half a chance in life to find a new part,  
Just a simple role that I can play._

_A new hope -  
Something to convince me to renew hope!  
A new day bright enough  
To help me find my way!_

_A new chance -  
One that maybe has a touch of romance.  
Where can it be,  
__The chance for me?_

_A new dream -  
I have one I know that very few dream!  
I would like to see that overdue dream -  
Even though it never may come true!  
_

_A new love -  
Though I know there's no such thing as true love -  
Even so, although I never knew love,  
Still I feel that one dream is my due!_

_A new world -  
This one thing I want to ask of you, world -  
Once! - Before it's time to say adieu, world!  
One sweet chance to prove the cynics wrong!_

_A new life -  
More and more, I'm sure, as I go through life,  
Just to play the game - and to pursue life -  
Just to share its pleasures and belong! -  
That's what I've been here for, all along!  
Each day's a brand new life!_

_Jekyll & Hyde, "A New Life"_

_  
_Once Ariana had finished unpacking her things the next morning, the first task she decided to give herself was to find another job. She was grateful for her sister's generosity – Morgana not only let her stay , she had given her her own room and allowed her to use almost anything she liked - but she also felt like she was imposing, and she wanted to make sure she didn't overstay her welcome. Her plan was to save up enough money so that she could get a place of her own, preferably near Morgana so she would always have someone close by that she could depend on.

She descended the creaky, lopsided staircase and slid a thin shawl over her shoulders. Above, on the leaky roof, she could hear the sharp patter of raindrops.

As she passed the main room on her way out, something caught her peripheral vision and she stopped short, turning her head to get a better look.

It was a door. Not a regular door with hinges built into a frame in the wall, but a freestanding door that was held in place by mere air. It was in the middle of the room, and looked as if it led nowhere.

Curiosity took hold, and Ariana cautiously looked around the room before tentatively stepping toward the strange door. Slowly she reached out and gripped the doorknob, taking a deep breath before turning it…then jiggling it. It was locked.

She stepped back, disappointed and filled with even more of a need to know what lay beyond. On her tip-toes, Ariana stretched her arm up far enough to slide her fingers across the top of the doorframe, hoping to find a key, but she felt nothing - not even dust.

She stared at the door for a few moments more, eyebrows raised, then finally decided to leave it alone until she had a chance to ask Morgana about it. She turned with a shrug and headed outside.

Locking the door behind her, Ariana wandered onto the rain-soaked sidewalks of St. Canard with a list clutched in her hand of various job opportunities she'd looked up the previous night. She had no idea how to get to the addresses she'd scrawled on the paper, but she was hopeful that it would prove easier than finding Morgana's house had been.

Taking a deep breath of the fresh, humid air of spring, she set out to find the first prospect on her list.

It only took her fifteen minutes to get lost.

No matter how many times she tried retracing her steps, she found herself in unfamiliar territory. The streets and alleyways were like a labyrinth, and she was trapped inside of it, surrounded by harassed, high-strung citizens who were too busy racing through their routines to give her the time of day. Just when she thought that perhaps she was on the right track, she was met with a dead end. At least it had stopped raining.

After a while, she found herself steadily growing frustrated and panicked. What if she couldn't find her way back to Morgana's house? What if she was doomed to walk these strange city streets forever? The worries would not stop, and soon she was so overwhelmed that she stopped paying attention to her surroundings. She couldn't quit focusing on the worry, working herself up more and more until she felt physically sick like she'd swallowed a mouthful of pebbles that proceeded to bounce around in her abdomen, tearing her up from the inside out.

The paper she still had clutched in her hand was becoming more ragged as she kneaded it between her fingers. Unconsciously, her body accelerating toward a fight-or-flight response, she picked up her pace and sped around the next corner, her gray eyes searching absently for something – anything – familiar. Then she saw it.

A sign for Bindler's Hardware Store. It was where she had literally run into Launchpad the previous day. A flood of relief washed through her from beak to webbed toes. She wasn't too far from Morgana's house now, and the thought crossed her mind that she'd better just go back and forget about job searching for the day.

Yet some small part of her refused to give up so easily. One thing was for sure, though. If she was going to venture out into the city yet again, she was going to have to get directions. It was obvious from her previous attempts that she wasn't too adept at finding locations on her own.

She found herself in a bind. If she went home defeated, she would feel incompetent and chastise herself the rest of the evening, but if she continued she would have to get past her gripping shyness and ask for help.

At least a good five minutes must have passed by with customers going in and out around her as she stood in front of the doorway. Each time the door opened either to let someone out or in, a bell chimed, jarring Ariana momentarily from her internal self-talk. She had been trying to convince herself the entire time that she was capable of going in there and asking for directions without looking like an idiot.

Still she stood there, unable to move.

Staring.

Staring.

Staring…

"…May I help you?"

A sharp intake of breath jerked Ariana back to the present, and she noticed a small-framed brunette with glasses standing in front of her with a curious yet timid expression.

Ariana glanced down to see the woman's nametag and realized she was an employee from the hardware store.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, her face flushing. "Yes! …Please."

"I thought maybe you wanted some help because I saw you standing out here looking in like you were lost, and I thought maybe you needed help, so I came outside to find out," the woman started to ramble.

Ariana smiled, liking her instantly. "Well, I was wondering if maybe I could get some directions…"

The employee, whose name was Elizabeth, mirrored Ariana's expression and opened her bill to respond when a different voice from within the store barked loudly as the next customer entered.

"Beth! What are you doing standing around? I asked you to get me a soda, like, ten minutes ago!"

Both women tensed at the sound of the voice. Ariana was reminded of a recent ex-friend of hers, and while her face held dislike, Beth's held guilt, and the brunette turned to call back into the store. "I'm sorry, Henny! I'll go get it right now!" Her attention was back on Ariana as she passed apologetically. "I have to go across the street really fast, I'm sorry."

"That's okay," Ariana replied sympathetically. "I'll walk with you." She didn't know why, but Beth seemed to put her at ease unlike anyone she'd ever met.

Beth blinked as if Ariana's offer had surprised her, then her smile returned. "Okay."

They crossed the street together, chatting like old friends, and while they waited for the attendant to fill up Henny's soda, Ariana explained her situation to an understanding Beth.

"If you want, I can show you around after I get off," Beth offered. "I mean, I don't really know a whole lot about the city or anything, but I at least know where the important things are, and even a few places are that are hiring."

"Really? That would be great!" cried Ariana.

She watched for a few moments as Beth went inside to give Henny, who was sitting behind the counter reading a magazine, her soda and to apologize profusely for making her wait for so long. Then, as Henny complained that Beth didn't do anything around the store, Ariana couldn't help but feel a twisted sense of déjà vu. At the same time she felt the urge to go in and defend Beth even though she barely knew her. The feeling was quickly squelched when Henny's eyes glanced in Ariana's direction, and Beth came over to say a quick goodbye.

"I'll, uh, give you a call or something when I'm off," she said hurriedly, as if Henny's glare would suck the life out of her.

"Okay," Ariana nodded.

"Okay. Bye!" Beth turned to go back inside, but stopped with a sheepish laugh. "I just remembered. I can't call you without your phone number. Er…can I have your phone number?"

"Oh, sure! It's…um…it's…" Ariana trailed off as she realized she had no idea what Morgana's phone number was. She gave Beth a helpless expression and silently pleaded the brunette wouldn't think she was a complete imbecile. "It's my sister's number…I don't know it yet."

"Oh, well that makes sense," Beth said reassuringly at the expression on Ariana's face. "Don't worry about it. Why don't you just meet me back here at five o'clock? That's when I should be getting off…provided Henny doesn't give me some extra cleaning up to do."

Seemingly at the mention of her name, Henny's shrill voice called out Beth's name condescendingly, and Beth's face instantly flushed.

"I'd better go. See you later!" And she was gone.

Ariana's eyes watched the doorway for a few moments more, but her mind was elsewhere. This Beth girl seemed like a very nice, albeit kind of jumpy, person, and Ariana was extremely grateful for any show of kindness. With a hopeful bounce in her step, the young duck made her way back toward her sister's house, planning to meet back up with Beth in a few hours.

She stepped inside of McCawber Manor hesitantly and peered around the heavy oaken doorway.

"Hello…?" she called, having thought she'd heard voices a few moments ago.

The house settled with a low groan, and she stepped through the hall into the living room. Morgana turned with a start.

"Oh! Ariana, you scared me."

"Sorry," her sister apologized. "I thought I heard voices…"

"That was me; I was talking to…myself," Morgana explained hurriedly, stepping away from the freestanding doorway and bustling across the floor. "Planning, you know, for work."

"Oh, you never did tell me how that pizza topping business was turning out."

"That, er, fell through," Morgana explained. "Right now I'm…between jobs. Actually I was just on my way to run a few errands. So I guess I'll see you later."

"What's in the bag?" Ariana asked curiously, just noticing the small bag Morgana had clutched in her hand.

"What bag?" came the instinctive, defensive reply. Then Morgana laughed a little nervously. "Oh, this? It's supplies. Eek, Squeak, Archie, let's go!" The three creatures scrambled out of the darkness and perched themselves on Morgana's person as she headed out the front door. "Well, bye!"

Ariana didn't even have time to return the farewell before the door closed. Quirking an eyebrow, she tried not to read too much into Morgana's strange, harried behavior. After all, what her sister did was really none of her business, and she didn't feel she had a right to pry too deeply into Morgana's affairs, especially when her sister had been kind enough to put her up.

Still…

For a second time that day, Ariana moved toward the mysterious doorway and looked it over before trying the knob. Yet again it was locked.

Disappointed, she moved over to the couch to sit and contemplate what to do for the next couple of hours. She hadn't sat there very long before something didn't feel right. The couch was stiff and solid, like metal. The cushions weren't comfortable in the slightest, in fact they were hard as rocks. Wondering, then, what type of furniture was underneath the white couch cover, she pulled it up and discovered not a hardened old sofa but a pile of safes. Some were smaller than others, and those were stacked nearer the front than their taller cousins. Morgana had arranged them to look like a sofa and then covered them with a sheet. Ariana's brow furrowed. Why? Where had these safes come from? And why was Morgana hiding them?

Coming up with no reasonable explanation, Ariana sat back stiffly against the couch made of safes and tried to put the troublesome thoughts from her mind, though that proved to be harder than she anticipated.

Five o'clock rolled around, and Ariana was already waiting patiently just outside of Bindler's Hardware Store. Through the window she could see Henny blathering something to Beth, who was sweeping the floors as if she hadn't a care in the world. With a flounce of her hair, Henny swept toward the doors and bustled through them, scoffing at Beth's incompetence. When she caught sight of Ariana standing there, she sneered.

"What are you looking at?"

Ariana wanted so badly to retort something in a tone as nasty as Henny's that she could feel it bubble up in her throat. But the sheer spite in the other girl's eyes halted the phrase, and instead Ariana grudgingly swallowed it.

"Nothing…" she mumbled.

"That's what I thought," Henny snorted with a callous laugh before she flounced down the sidewalk and into a waiting cab.

The squeal of the tires mingled with the melodious tinkling of the store bell, and Ariana looked up to see Beth locking up.

"Hello," Ariana ventured softly.

Beth whirled around with a start, then exhaled in relief when she saw Ariana.

"Oh, you scared me."

"Sorry…"

"Oh, it's no big deal, it just gets a little spooky when the sun starts going down." Beth tucked a couple of strands of hair behind her ear, looking slightly embarrassed as she made her way down the steps toward Ariana. "Okay," she rushed on. "I looked up a few places while I was on break and –"

"You didn't have to do that," Ariana breathed in surprise.

"It's okay, I wanted to do it," Beth continued reassuringly. "Anyway, I wasn't sure exactly what you were looking for, so I organized each opening by type of work and then I alphabetized them to make things easier."

Ariana could only stare at Beth in awe, to think that she would go to all that trouble just to help her out.

"Ready to go? We'll probably only be able to catch a few places that are still open, but it's better than nothing, right?"

A little past ten o'clock, Ariana strolled up the sidewalk toward 13 DeSpell Lane and gazed up at the sky with a serene expression. She frowned, however, when she realized it was overcast. With a flick of her extended wrists, the clouds parted like the Red Sea, revealing a tapestry of diamonds winking down at her from the velvet blanket of space.

"That's better," she sighed to herself. It had been a good evening. She and Beth had had so much fun talking to each other that they'd gone on to grab some dinner. Of course, Beth had had to pay, for which Ariana felt guilty, but Beth had seemed more than happy to do it. Somehow Ariana felt that Beth needed a friend almost as much as she needed one herself.

Three interviews had been lined up for tomorrow, but Ariana couldn't find the room to be nervous just yet. Right now, she was happy just knowing that she had made a friend in this big and strange metropolis.

She hadn't been in the manor for more than five minutes before the front door opened again and Morgana stormed inside.

"Oooo, of all the pig-headed, arrogant, sneaky…" her muttered ranting suddenly melted into a sigh, "…dreamy hunk of a duck. I can't _believe_ he managed to take my—"

"Morgana?"

Her sister jumped, startled, and it was the third time that day that Ariana had inadvertently frightened somebody.

"Oh, Ariana!" she gasped. "I forgot you were here."

"Sorry," Ariana apologized. Then she looked at Morgana curiously. "Did somebody steal something from you?"

"Huh? Oh…it's nothing. Just a business deal gone wrong, but I'll fix it. I know someone that can, er, replace what I lost. Shouldn't you be getting to bed? It's late."

Ariana shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. What about you?"

"I can't possibly sleep now. I need to get this taken care of right away."

"All right, well…I hope everything works out."

"Oh, it will," Morgana said lowly after her. "I'll make sure of it."

As she made her way up the rickety staircase toward the guest room, Ariana paused, remembering that she hadn't seen Eek, Squeak, or Archie with Morgana.

"Morgana, where are…" She fell silent when she heard Morgana's voice coming from across the living room, as if she were speaking to somebody. Wanting to find out what was going on once and for all, Ariana crept as quietly as she could back down the staircase and peered around the corner.

She was just in time to see her sister vanish through the strange doorway, and she knew there was no turning back now. Light on her toes, she padded across the wooden floor and pressed her ear against the door, hoping to hear what was going on on the other side.

No such luck.

Disappointed, she reached down to try and jiggle the knob, but just before her fingers closed on it, it seemed to move itself! Realizing it must be Morgana returning, Ariana raced back across the living room and dove behind an armchair just as the door flew open. She could hear her sister's raised voice coming through, and she sounded angry.

"…And that's an order!" declared Morgana before she stomped into the room and slammed the magical doorway closed. In her fist was another small bag, identical to the one she'd had that morning, and something told Ariana it wasn't filled with pizza toppings. She was beginning to wonder just what her sister was up to.

Out the front disappeared a determined Morgana, and Ariana impulsively followed, curiosity guiding her steps. She kept a safe distance as she tracked her sister, and she did well for a while until she was so intent on Morgana that she nearly ran straight into the path of a car. A horn resounded in her ears, and she jerked to the side with an outstretched arm, expecting another semi truck to be barreling down on her. Instead it was a black Aston Martin, behind which was an older mallard with bushy black eyebrows. He was glaring at her impatiently, his fingers tapping on the steering wheel. She swallowed her pounding heart and inched backward out of the street. The luxury sedan roared around the corner as soon as she was out of the way, and it wasn't until she'd taken a couple of deep breaths that she remembered Morgana. Her gray eyes panned the sidewalks anxiously, but there was no sign of her sibling, and to make matters worse, Ariana once again found herself lost.

She knew there was always the location spell, but Ariana hesitated to use it, mainly because she would be using magic in a public area. After what had happened recently, she wasn't so sure using her abilities would be wise, even in private.

The debate with herself was cut short when a horrible noise ripped through the air. It sounded like an encumbered street sweeper grating across chainmail. Somebody was snoring.

She couldn't help it. She had to know where that sound was coming from, and who in the world could snore that loudly. As she headed in the direction of the noise, it seemed to grow louder the farther south she went, toward the center of the city. It went on for at least ten minutes before it abruptly halted, along with Ariana. She tilted her head from side to side, listening intently, but the sound had ceased. There were no residences or apartments near where she was standing, only businesses, and briefly she wondered if someone was spending the night under their desk. She didn't have long to think about it, though, because minutes later she was showered in beautiful sparkling gold powder that was falling from the sky like pixie dust. As she gazed upward, the tiny flakes of light landed gently on her face, and she admired them with wondrous delight. It was like magical rain tickling her feathers; she couldn't help but laugh.

Suddenly she began to feel exhausted. The more the golden grains landed on her, the more drained she felt. Her eyelids weighed a thousand pounds, and the yawn she gave stretched her bill so wide she resembled a Hamburger Hippo. Luckily for her there was a staircase nearby so that when her knees buckled she sank harmlessly onto one of the steps and drifted to sleep.

_The bathroom was thankfully empty as she made her way into the nearest stall. Quietly she sat with her lunch tray in her lap, neurotically obsessing over the fact that she had had no one to sit with in the lunch room, and that nobody had offered her a seat while she had wandered the cafeteria looking for one._

_It was her first day of school, and so far it hadn't been good. The classes themselves weren't going to be so bad, except for Algebraic Potion Formulas. It was the student body she was worried about. She wished she could have gone to the same school as Morgana, but the family had seemed so excited that she had been admitted here that she hadn't dared to break their hearts and refuse. _

_Monsters, werewolves, vampires, zombies…an entire campus full of dark creatures, and yet she felt so out of place. She longed to return home where at least there were familiar faces, but she wouldn't be able to do that until the autumn solstice. Silent tears fell into her spider leg soufflé, but she didn't care. It had needed salt anyway._

_When she finished her solitary lunch, she left the empty tray sitting near the trash can and made sure her face was free of any traces of tears before she made her way out into the hallway. It was lined with students, and as she walked past them, they all began to taunt and jeer at her, their faces twisted with scorn and contempt as they threw trash at her. She tried to run back into the restroom, but they had the door blocked. Instead, she turned and raced down the hall, trying to drown out their insults by plastering her hands against her ears, but their voices only seemed to grow louder. In desperation she sealed her eyelids shut._

_The taunts became cries of outrage, and it wasn't until she felt her arms being forced behind her back that she opened her eyes once more. The children had mutated into an angry mob of adults wielding pitchforks, stones, and fistfuls of dirt and sticks. Ropes bound her upper body so tightly she could scarcely breathe. The sky was an angry red stained with ink-colored clouds, and a million hands grabbed at her and shoved her toward the center of the village where a massive post of wood towered over them. Circled around the black stake were massive piles of straw and kindling, and it was then that she understood._

"_No! No, please!" she screamed, trying to struggle backward. Her heels twisted in the dirt beneath her feet, but she only ended up tripping herself. "Please, you don't understand!" Her throat ached as if she'd swallowed glass, and her voice became thin and strained. She threw herself backward, writhing in their grip. "I didn't mean to! It was an accident!! PLEASE, NO!!"_

_They were spitting at her now, cursing her kind and those who stood up for her. She thrashed about weakly, knowing her fate was inevitable. Even as they tied her securely to the stake, she could feel the heat from the flames of their torches as they poised them over the straw, ready to begin._

_Her wrists lost all feeling, and her eyes watered over as she helplessly watched the villagers toss the torches onto the straw, igniting it within seconds. A wall of fire encircled her, and as the heat melted the feathers from her flesh, she screamed and screamed and screamed._

Her scream merged into the shrill ring of an alarm clock, and Ariana jolted awake. The sound was obnoxiously loud, like the blare of fire engine sirens, and almost immediately she could hear shouts of protest coming from every direction as angry citizens were roused from their slumber. She blinked a few times and stood up slowly to get her bearings. It wasn't until she felt a tap on her shoulder that she turned around and realized she wasn't alone.

Beth smiled at her and tried to say something, but her voice was lost in all the noise. No words could describe how happy and relieved Ariana was to see her.

"What?!" Ariana cried, putting her hand to her ear to emphasize that she couldn't hear.

All at once, the alarm ceased, and unfortunately for Ariana's ears, Beth wasn't in time to correct the volume of her voice before she tried again.

"_I said, 'What are you doing out—' _oh, sorry!" Beth put her hands over her mouth in surprise, her face flushing.

"Something weird happened," Ariana explained. "I was following my sister when this pretty gold stuff started falling from the sky. The next thing I know, I'm falling asleep, and then I woke up here!"

"The same thing happened to me! Well…except I wasn't following your sister…and I was grocery shopping."

It wasn't until then that Ariana noticed the bags clutched in Beth's hands, and in the next few minutes they were walking through downtown toward where Beth lived. Once they reached their destination, the sorceress' eyes panned up toward the house that stood between two very impressive buildings. It was small and gray with a shabby black shingled roof. The wooden boards that made up the siding were cracked and warped, but Ariana noticed a patch of brightness beneath each windowsill. Beth had planted small beds of violet-blue flowers, and they were a welcome bit of beauty in such a drab, colorless place.

"This is where you live?"

"Yeah," Beth responded. "It isn't much, but it's home! Hey, you're not busy right now, are you? I mean, since you lost your sister and all, and we just walked all that way, you must be pretty tired. Oh! But I don't want to put words in your mouth. It's just, it IS past midnight, and I thought maybe…"

Ariana smiled. "I would love to stay the night."

"Okay! If you really want to."

She didn't understand the happiness in Beth's eyes, but Ariana was grateful that it was there.

* * *

"Morgana!" she called as soon as she was through the door. "Morgana, guess what? I have a job! …Morgana?"

Her heart was pounding with excitement as she rushed from room to room in search of her sister.

"Morgana, are you home?"

Met with no answer, Ariana's sprits sank minimally, as she remembered the mystery that had peaked her interest over the past few days. It wasn't long before she found herself in the middle of the living room once again, only this time the freestanding door was missing. She quirked an eyebrow and crept toward where it had been, but there was no evidence a door was ever there. It was as if it had vanished into thin air. Immediately her eyes travelled across the room, and she felt almost relieved to see that the safe-couch was still there. This mystery had gone on long enough. Now she just had to muster up the courage to talk to Morgana about it, and that was easier said than done.

Her body tingled with the residue of happiness that came from being employed as she moved to call Beth and tell her the good news. She had nearly turned the corner, heading for the phone, when once again a particular portrait caught her eye. With slow, almost cautious steps, she crossed the entryway into the study, never once looking away from the striking woman's silver eyes. Her mother's eyes.

Beneath the hand painted likeness was a bronze plate, engraved _Threnody Letuma McCawber_. She stopped just in front of the canvas, her eyes taking in every facet of Threnody's delicate feminine features, and it was as if her mother was actually in the room with her, smiling down at her from the ornate rosemary frame. She looked exactly as she had in life: flawless pale feathers; hair as black as night with streaks of gray in it as silky as spider webs; bright gray eyes that revealed her stark intelligence; and she was dressed in an extravagant dress of violet, her favorite color.

Ariana hadn't seen her mother's face in thirteen years. Meeting her eyes now, Ariana felt like a child all over again, and her eyes welled up with unshed tears.

"Mom…" she whispered, her voice strained with emotion. A tiny smile broke through the sadness. "I got a new job today…it's at a jewelry store. I know it isn't exactly what you and Daddy had planned for me, but…I'm doing the best I can." A tear slid down her cheek, but she didn't bother to wipe it away. "I hope…" She hesitated, choking a little on her words. "I hope you can still be proud of me…" The familiar ache rose in her throat, and more tears followed the first. She could say no more to her mother's portrait except a meek, "I miss you…" Her fingertips strayed to the necklace at her neck, and the azure stone at its center felt cold to the touch. A heavy sigh escaped her bill just as the front door opened.

"Ari?"

"I'm in here," she answered her sister.

"How did the interviews go?"

Ariana brushed her cheeks with the backs of her hands and turned around with bright eyes. "I got the job at Audubon Jewelers!"

"Oh, that's great!" Morgana cried. "Congratulations! When do you start?"

"Tomorrow."

"Are you excited?"

"A little. I hope this job turns out better than my last one…" Her weight shifted underneath her, but she only hesitated a moment before blurting out, "Morgana? Can I ask you about something?"

"Of course, what is it?"

Ariana's eyes darted from her sister to the room across the hall and back. "I was just wondering…" A second sigh flowed from her bill. She couldn't bring herself to ask about the door or the safes just yet. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Pretend to be a normal?"

Morgana gave a light laugh and shook her head. "Ari, I _don't_ pretend to be a normal. I live here the same way I lived in Transylvania."

"You mean normals see you do magic?"

"Well…yes."

"And they don't treat you badly for it?"

"I didn't say that."

Ariana frowned a little. "I don't understand…"

"Most of the normals here are different from the normals back home. In fact, I recently met one that is probably more like us than normal…" Morgana's green eyes grew distant, and there was a kind of bittersweet longing in the way she spoke that made Ariana's heart twist with envy.

She wasn't as strong as Morgana, and she knew it. Even if the normals were more accepting of magic here, which she could scarcely believe, Ariana didn't think she could put herself through another Duckburg incident. She shook her head.

"I can't do it, Morgana. I don't _want_ to use magic anymore. Ever. All it's ever done is brought me trouble. I don't want anyone to know what I am."

Her sister's hand fell comfortingly on her shoulder.

"Are you sure about that, Ari? You know what that will do to your powers…Is it because of what happened with Father?"

Again Ariana shook her head. "No…" Her eyes panned over toward their mother's portrait, and Morgana's gaze followed. "It's because of what happened to my life. I want to start a different one. I want to be a normal."

* * *

_Author's Note:_ Okay, so if it wasn't obvious enough, a lot of this takes place during the episode _Ghoul of My Dreams_. I've tried to work it so that the parts we see on the screen don't conflict with Ariana's being there so it will make sense. Hopefully I succeeded, as this will also spill over into the next chapter.

Jake Mallard makes a brief cameo here, if you caught it. He belongs to Bloody-Ban. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Eight**

_Hey, don't write yourself off yet__  
It's only in your head you feel left out__  
Or looked down on  
__Just do your best, do everything you can  
And don't you worry what their bitter hearts  
Are gonna say_

~Jimmy Eat World, "The Middle"

She had been training all morning. When it finally slowed down, Mrs. Pennyfeather, the owner of the jewelry store, decided to let Ariana handle the place with one other sales associate. Ariana could scarcely swallow the butterflies fluttering about in her belly and throat.

"You'll be okay, won't you, dear?" Mrs. Pennyfeather asked kindly as she gave Ariana a pat on the hand.

Ariana opened her mouth, a look that was a combination of fear and bashfulness flushing her face, but she didn't have a chance to squeak out a reply.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine. Josephine will be here to help you. Here's your store key; keep it safe. Goodnight, dear."

Before Ariana could even process what the elderly woman had said, Mrs. Pennyfeather had disappeared out of the door. She blinked, then stared across the glass counter at Josephine, who was busily wiping down the display cases with a rag. It looked like it would be just the two of them, whether she liked it or not.

* * *

He tucked the pistol inside of his jacket, grinning at the feel of the cold steel against his feathers. It sent a thrill through him like nothing else could, and when combined with the rev of the Troublemaker, it nearly sent him over the top. A gleeful fit of villainous laughter pitched Negaduck off onto the streets of Saint Canard, hell-bent on ruining more than a few citizens' lives.

By late afternoon he'd already knocked over a couple of banks, defaced the statues in Saint Canard Memorial Park, and parked in handicapped spaces wherever he could. He was contemplating terrorizing the residents of the old folks' home when he caught sight of a bright, cheerful sign on next corner. Immediately his eyes narrowed and he felt sick to his stomach. Something had to be done about this…and he was just the mallard for the job.

"All right, you pathetic peons, gimme all the jewels in the display cases…NOW!"

Gasps of terror immediately followed his order, and a satisfied smile crossed his prickly bill. There were only two chicks minding the store, and by the looks on their faces, this would be an easy heist.

"Oh my God, it's Negaduck! Don't hurt me!" Josephine shrieked, tossing her hands up in the air and racing into the backroom. The sound of the door locking behind her was unmistakable, but Negaduck only chuckled in amusement. It seemed his reputation preceded him.

"Just wait'll she finds out I've already cut the phone wires…"

His eyes rested on Ariana, who hadn't moved a single inch since he'd entered. "And don't bother with the silent alarm, either. There isn't anyone coming to stop me! Now, my dear…" he sneered lowly, "why don't you make yourself useful and get the cash out of register for me while I help myself to some diamonds, hmmm?"

Ariana willed herself to speak, to say anything, but her mouth felt as paralyzed as the rest of her body. She recognized this duck as the one who had chased her out of the wharf district only a few days ago, and she counted herself lucky that he appeared not to recognize her in the slightest.

A flash of steel in the fading sunlight snapped her out of her daze, and she realized he'd pulled out his pistol. With a flick of his wrist, the weapon spun around his index finger, and he eyed her coolly from behind the black mask. She gulped, but not at the sight of the weapon.

"But…it's – "

"Can the chit-chat, chickie, before I put a few holes through that pretty face of yours."

Her eyes widened, and her breath caught in her throat. Pretty face? Was he patronizing her?

He growled impatiently when she didn't move. If there was one thing he hated, it was the absence of groveling. Within seconds his finger had pulled the trigger, and the gratifying blast of gunfire and shattering glass filled the air. The mousy blonde clerk jumped and backed up against the wall.

"Now that I have your _attention_," he snapped, throwing an empty brown bag at her, "the money?"

Ariana nodded feebly and moved toward the register. While she was fumbling to put the money in the bag, Negaduck scooped up all of the jewelry in the display case he'd just destroyed. Ariana's eyes flitted between the masked duck and the cash, and she couldn't help but wonder just who he was. Josephine had screamed some odd name before hightailing it out of there, but she hadn't quite caught it. He certainly seemed like he'd been through this routine before and that he was even enjoying himself.

"I'll take _that_," he sneered, snatching the bag stuffed with cash out of her hands and slinging it over his shoulder with the other bag. Then he bowed grandly and pocketed his pistol with a devious glint in his eyes. "It's been fun; we really _should_ do this again sometime."

That said, he slipped out of the doorway, but she didn't relax until she heard the roar of his motorcycle fade into the distance. The knob to the backroom turned and Josephine's head popped out tentatively.

"Is he gone…?" she whispered.

Ariana nodded.

"Good," she breathed in relief, stepping out of the room. "That was the scariest thing that ever happened to me in my life. It's a good thing I didn't lose my composure, or else he might've gotten away with…everything…" Josephine's eyes panned over the store without missing a single empty display casing or shard of transparent glass. Instantly the severity of what had just occurred descended over Ariana, followed by a flood of guilt.

"Wow…" Josephine breathed with finality, "are _you_ in trouble."

* * *

"Did you really stand up to him all by yourself?" Gloria breathed in amazement.

"Yup."

"That's crazy! You could have been killed! Weren't you scared?" asked Barry.

"Apparently not as scared as Ariana. I tried to stop him, but he still got away with everything."

"But Josephine, you're practically a hero! At least you stood up for the store, which is more than anyone else does these days! I'll bet Mrs. Pennyfeather'll give you a raise! And if she doesn't, she's nuts!"

"But I…wasn't…that's not what happened…" Ariana offered feebly from where she stood a few feet outside of the cluster of store employees. Her voice wavered like a feather in the wind under their skeptical stares.

"You say that now, but wait'll he comes back! They always return to the scene of the crime! She'll be hiding in the ventilation system next!"

This ignited a burst of raucous laughter. Ariana's cheeks burned scarlet. The urge to retort with the truth bubbled up in her throat, like shaken soda pop, but she kept her lips tightly closed. This time she would control herself. Let them laugh, let them jeer. Being a scapegoat was better than being an outsider, right?

"You're lucky Mrs. Pennyfeather didn't fire you," her co-workers continued to chatter, apparently oblivious to her unease or, perhaps, thriving on it. "I'm actually surprised she didn't." "I'll bet she just feels sorry for you." "If you were my employee, I would have canned you!"

"It's lucky I was there," Josephine cut in, drawing the attention back on herself for which Ariana was undeniably grateful. "He didn't get away with nearly as much as he _would_ have if I…"

Her voice faded away as Ariana climbed the stairwell in the back that led to the rooftop. Tears threatened to cascade down her flushed cheeks but she didn't care. Unheeded, they numbly rained down accompanied by the bitter taste of salt that may as well have been poison. Blindly she made her way to the edge of the rooftop and loosened her fists in favor of gripping the railing lining the roof as if the building was about to collapse.

She worried that if Mrs. Pennyfeather walked in and heard her co-workers talk, she'd change her mind and let Ariana go after all, and that was the last thing Ariana wanted. She couldn't fail again.

Yet somehow she'd already managed to mess things up, and it felt as though no matter what she tried to do, nobody genuinely liked or cared about her. Why couldn't she be like everybody else? What was wrong with her? What was it about her that made people turn up their noses at her or altogether ignore her? Maybe she'd better give up now before things got worse, before she really hurt somebody the way she'd hurt Krysten. She didn't deserve the life she wanted, anyway. She wasn't good enough for anything – not a job, not her family, not even a friend like Beth.

Her gaze drifted out over the bay, the light shimmering off of the surface like glittering diamonds, and she wished she could be one of them. They experienced no fears, no worries, no sadness – only tranquility, a beautiful tranquility that, were she one of them, would consume her soul forever, and she would drift along on an endless journey and never be alone.

She sighed. What was the use in wishing if nothing came true?

* * *

He ran faster than he dared, his muscles pumping underneath him in a flurry of flesh and feathers, and a raw, untamed scream of laughter erupted from his spindly throat as he turned his head and spotted his arch rival losing ground. The rough roofing bit into the soles of his feet and the pain felt good to his deranged mind.

"You'll never catch me, duck!" he snarled over his shoulder.

The edge of the roof was fast approaching, but rather than slow down at the sight of it, he sped up, his black cape snapping in the wind like bat wings. With a single effortless leap, the fugitive was soaring through the air, and when his feet touched the pavement of the neighboring roof they did not stop.

"Says the duck I sent away over two dozen times in the last year!" shouted the distant but fierce voice of his enemy.

A smile poisoned with evil touched the corners of his bill. No matter how many times that deluded double of his put him in prison, he always found a way out. There was nothing in the world that could stop him. And soon –

A hard jolt halted his internal monologue, and he was thrown off balance. He'd run into somebody, a somebody who gave a shrill cry of fear as they tumbled over the edge of the building.

"Why don't you watch where I'm going, lady?!" he roared, frustrated that his progress had been interrupted. Darkwing was only a few dozen feet away now.

Without a second glance at his victim, he shot off into the night, leaving his do-gooder counterpart to save the day and simultaneously end pursuit.

Ariana was suddenly aware that she was falling. A piercing rush of wind whipped through her feathers, and she felt tears streaming from her burning eyes. Someone had run into her, pushed her over the edge, someone wearing a long black cape and a severe blue-eyed glower. He had yelled something at her, something harsh and grating, but she only heard the tone, which was faintly recognizable above the roar of the air blasting in her ears.

The ground was racing to meet her, and it wasn't until this hard fact hit her that she screamed a second time. Her own voice was barely familiar. It sounded hollow and distant as if it was only an echo. Then everything came to an abrupt halt. The air was pitched out of her lungs as a strong arm encircled her abdomen and cut off her drop. She could barely draw in breath and started to grow dizzy. Only the feeling of the arm and the warm body holding her tightly kept her conscious long enough to look up at the face of her rescuer.

In the darkness no colors registered except for the intensity of his twin blue eyes, so pale that they almost blended in with his scleras. She knew those eyes.

"You…" she breathed. The word barely escaped her bill before everything went dark.

* * *

It was unusual for Ariana not to be plagued by nightmares, so she was scarcely surprised to find herself jolting awake out of a sound sleep, the dredges of subconscious horror clinging to her mind's eye. It wasn't that she could relive every detail of the dream, or even that she could remember what it had been about, but it was that she could _feel_ it hovering over her, weighing on her and suffocating her like poison gas. It left her shaking a little, her breaths skittering in and out of her bill in shallow leaps, and cold pricks of sweat dampening her forehead. It wasn't every morning that Ariana would wake with so much foreboding, but it happened more often than not.

Even so, she adored the morning. The breaking dawn, the promise of a new day, and the crisp air that crept through the thin panes of glass and cooled her feathers. It was at this time of day, at this moment, that Ariana felt alive. The only thing better than waking from darkness was skating over it, the blades cutting their own path through the muddled hues of a frozen pond. It would be a few months yet before she could skate again, but she always had the morning.

It wasn't until her eyes lighted on the blue and gray tones of her room that the events of the previous evening invaded her memory on the coattails of nightmare. Her pounding heart stilled at the remembrance of a set of blue eyes staring down at her, and a strong arm encircling her waist, silently promising protection and safety. She was alive.

How had she gotten back home? How had he known to bring her here?

In the hopes that Morgana may have answers, she sprang from beneath the thick sheets and padded through the manor. The hard wooden floors felt icy on her feet and sent chills rippling up her back. It was in the sitting room that she found her sister, lounging by the bay window, sipping black tea and staring out at their private rainfall.

Ariana's light steps drew Morgana's green eyes toward her, but it was moments before they returned to the present.

"Ari," she smiled briefly. "You're awake."

"Yes," said Ariana. "So it would seem." She hesitated for an inexplicable reason, then ventured, "Morgana, how did I get here?"

Her sister blinked, then furrowed her unmarred brow. "What do you mean?"

"Last night," Ariana clarified. "I was at work, and the last thing I remember is falling off of the roof, and –"

"Ariana, you're not making any sense."

"But somebody caught me. How did I get home?"

Morgana placed her teacup gingerly on the coffee table and looked at Ariana in a way that made her bristle.

"Maybe you were dreaming. You know, you still scream in your sleep."

"Not all the time."

"You kept me awake last night. I'm not used to it anymore. There was screaming every night at the castle in Transylvania, remember? It was like our lullaby."

"Only after Mom died."

"What do you want for breakfast?"

Ariana followed her sister dutifully through the house, oblivious to the seamless way Morgana had shifted the conversation, until she realized that something was missing. Her earlier defensiveness made her bold.

"Morgana?"

"Hmm?" The blood red robe grazed her calves as she paused.

Ariana pointed to an empty space along the front wall. "What happened to the couch?"

A flicker of fear overtook Morgana's features briefly, then was gone. "What couch?"

"The one that was sitting right here," Ariana pressed. "It was white." _And it was made up of a bunch of safes._

"Oh," Morgana said, feigning sudden recognition. "_That_ couch. I decided to get rid of it. It didn't really go with anything."

Tired of this game, Ariana decided to have out with it. "Were all of those safes yours?"

Now Morgana's face visibly paled, which was surprising given that it was already white.

"I…don't know what you mean."

The tightness in her voice only strengthened Ariana's resolve.

"Yes, you do. That couch wasn't really a couch at all. It was just a bunch of safes covered with a sheet."

"All right," sighed Morgana, as if she was about to unload a heavy weight. "I'll tell you. Just…promise not to tell anyone else, okay?"

"Okay."

Morgana bit her lip, then continued. "It's where I was keeping all of the money I was taking."

"Taking?"

"Oh -- no, not taking. I meant _making_."

"From the pizza topping business?"

"Yeah, that's right. From that."

"But I thought you said it fell through…"

Morgana fumbled only momentarily before her natural grace took over. "Oh, uh, well it did. Those were the profits I made from selling out to the competition."

Ariana felt dissatisfied with this explanation. Morgana had never been one to quit, especially in the face of an adversary. She was much like their father in that regard – stubborn.

"But where did they go?"

"I didn't need them anymore," Morgana explained carefully. "I put all of my savings into a bank."

"A bank?"

"You know, where normals store their money."

"Oh, you mean like Father's vault."

Morgana shook her head. "No, they don't keep it hidden in their homes like we do."

"But Mr. McDuck has one; I saw it. It has a red dome and a big gold dollar sign –"

"He's one of the few exceptions," Morgana interrupted. "Most normals put their money into a bank account, and the bank has their own vault they put all of the money in. They keep track of your finances for you so your money won't get mixed up with anyone else's."

Ariana blinked. "Really?"

She'd heard of a bank before while in Duckburg, but had never fully understood what it was or how to use it. They'd been robbed an awful lot, but the city's hero, Gizmoduck, had put a stop to it. Ariana wondered if St. Canard had a similar vigilante who could protect citizens' assets.

It also seemed terribly inconvenient to keep money locked away in a different building rather than keeping it at home, but Ariana was still adjusting to normal life, and she wanted to experience it to the fullest extent.

"I'll do it, too," she said.

"Do what?"

"Set up a bank account." With determined steps she disappeared up the winding staircase and returned moments later with an envelope full of money and a sheepish expression. "…How do I do it?"

* * *

Now that she was, for the most part, settled within the city, Ariana found it much easier to get around. Her stride was more confident, her demeanor freer, and there were even times when she dared to hum a sweet melody to herself as she passed through. The dead trees of winter were steadily giving way to the bright and cheerful hues of spring, and a light breeze wafted between the leaves, sending a soft rustle to follow her.

Although practically every other facet of her life was comfortable for now, her work life continued to be less than ideal. Ever since the robbery her co-workers had become more and more haughty toward her, teasing her about anything from the clothing she wore to the way she spoke. It didn't feel to Ariana like good-natured teasing, either. There was a hint of malice in their eyes and in their tone that Ariana wasn't sure she was imagining, and the way they snickered among themselves gave her a general feeling of unease. The only person in the store that treated her with any sort of outright respect and kindness was the owner, Mrs. Pennyfeather, but the elderly avian was rarely around.

Today would be no different.

"Ariana, good, I'm glad you're here," Gloria said briskly as soon as she entered the store. "We're starting a new promotion this week and we need all the signs hung up in the windows. The stepstool is over there."

The other woman pointed toward the back closet, and Ariana felt her spirits sink a bit. She had hoped that Gloria had had another reason to be "glad" to see her aside from the fact that it meant she could delegate responsibilities to her that weren't hers to delegate. For weeks now Gloria and Josephine had shirked their duties on to Ariana, and Ariana had been working her hardest to do the job of three people while they stood behind the counter and gossiped. She longed to become friends with her co-workers, but it seemed like no matter what she tried to do to please them they only disliked her more.

She was very aware of the fact that it was unfair of them to do this to her, that they were taking advantage of her, but she had all but given up trying to stand up for herself. The few times she had hesitantly tried to make a plea were met with scorn and a reminder that she needed to "make up" for what she had "let happen" to the store two months ago. At this point she found herself almost believing she _had_ been responsible for the burglary somehow. That she _should_ have been able to prevent it.

They had taken to calling her "Craven" whenever Mrs. Pennyfeather was not around, and though Ariana felt a flood of outrage when she heard the nickname, it was quelled by an equally powerful twist of guilt, which was enough to keep her quiet and focused on Gloria's, Josephine's, and her work duties. So it was with resoluteness that Ariana retrieved the stepstool from the back closet and began hanging the obnoxiously bright SALE signs in the front display windows.

Every time she heard the muffled snickers of the other two women behind her, she wondered if they were making fun of her under their breath. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but she couldn't help but feel that she was the object of their ridicule. It seemed a natural conclusion; she had been the object of ridicule for many people throughout her life. Even so, that didn't make the sting of it hurt any less. She wished she knew what she could do differently to be accepted. She had already tried everything she knew how to do and nothing seemed to work. It left her feeling despondent, whereas outside of work she was perfectly fine…most of the time.

The little bell above the door chimed as a young couple entered, and Ariana glanced over her shoulder to watch them. Her first impulse was to greet them and find out what they were there for, but Gloria and Josephine were right there. She figured they would step in and help. Josephine glanced up her way, annoyance clear in her gaze, and Ariana turned around and pretended to tend to the sign. After a minute or so, Josephine's voice rang sharply through the store.

"Can I help you with something?"

The couple smiled at one another before the tall, lanky man answered, "We're here to look at engagement rings."

Immediately Josephine's attitude shifted. "Oh, that's great! Princess cut or…?"

His fiancée nodded enthusiastically. "Please! What else is there?"

"I know, right?" Josephine gushed, leading them toward the display at the far end. "It's got to be the prettiest of all of the…"

The conversation faded in Ariana's ears as she began to feel a familiar sense of envy creep in. Rarely did the feeling invade her senses, but when it did, it was very hard to think of much else. Her mood sank farther as she thought of moments in her life when the chance for love had passed her by, and how empty her life seemed sometimes without somebody to share her heart with. But love was simply not meant for somebody like her.

"_Hey Ariana…what do you want to be when you grow up?"_

_She picked at the grass by her side, not daring to meet his eyes because she knew they were on her, and she could feel herself flood with shyness._

_They were sitting on a grassy hill overlooking the river below. Surrounding them were the vibrant buds of wildflowers, which Ariana had often picked in her younger years as gifts for her mother. A breeze washed over them, caressing her blonde hair gently with invisible fingers, and she closed her eyes, pretending for a moment that it was him instead. Even though he was sitting next to her, so close that she could feel his body heat, she knew there was no way to make her daydreams real. Terren liked a girl from the village, and Ariana was too afraid to tell him how she felt._

"_I don't know yet," she said softly, her entire body tense under his gaze. "I haven't been in school for that long."_

"_What kinds of things do they teach you there? Do you get to turn people into frogs and stuff?" He sounded so eager that Ariana felt ashamed to disappoint him._

"_W-well…not yet," she said. "I won't get to learn things like that until…later." She chanced a glance at his face and felt at once responsible for the crestfallen expression there. "Uh…b-but we _did_ learn multiplication spells…a-and how to mix a few potions…"_

"_Can you show me something?" He turned to face her, his face alight. His smile tugged at her heartstrings, and she was at once a bundle of nerves._

"_S-sure…!"_

"_Here." He plucked a blue flower and slid it slowly behind one of her ears. "That one's for you, and this one…" A second one found its way into the palm of her hand. "This one's for your magic."_

_Heat rose to her face as her eyes fell to the flower. She could feel her hands trembling against her will, but she made a fist around the bloom in an attempt to hide it from him. Inhaling slowly, she began to chant, and her gentle voice barely carried across the small span of air that hung between them. "_Creo planta plura per magus…_"_

_Within seconds there were at least a dozen of the same flower blossoming in her hands, seemingly out of thin air. She could hear Terren draw in a sharp breath, and she felt a stab of fear pierce through her. A subtle glance at him calmed her, for his face wasn't terrified, but amazed._

"_Wow…" he whispered, reaching out to touch the newly formed petals. "That's incredible…" Before she realized it, his fingers had drifted from the flowers to her own fingers, and once again she felt a twinge of panic. "_You're_ incredible."_

_She swallowed hard, trying to ignore his hand brushing hers. She wondered if he knew he wasn't fingering the flowers any longer. "W-what?" she managed, scarcely able to breath thanks to her pounding heart. "B-but…I'm not! I'm…! You like Bridgette!"_

_Her hands moved away from him and caught her weight behind her, and she knew her face was completely pink. Terren smiled, the corners of his beak trembling. Was he…nervous? How could he _possibly_ be nervous? He rubbed the back of his neck and looked away from her for a moment. She sighed in relief; she had felt naked beneath his penetrating stare_

"_Ariana…I don't like Bridgette. She's…well…can't you see that I—"_

_Terren never got to finish what he'd been about to say, because at that crucial moment a loud, obnoxious shout cut him off._

"_There she is! There's the freak now, out with her _boyfriend_!"_

"_I'm not her boyfriend!" Terren yelled back indignantly, already on his feet and bristling._

"_You can't chase us away now, bean boy! We told our parents what she did, and she's gonna get in trouble!"_

"_Leave her alone!"_

_But as the small cluster of bullying children tramped down the hill, it quickly became apparent that they were followed by numerous adults…what looked like every adult in the village. And all of them were either wielding a torch or a pitchfork._

"_Freak! Monster! Bloodthirsty murderer!" the adolescents taunted as they neared. The insults echoed in her mind and refused to leave, like a bitter aftertaste, and when Terren realized the entire village had come for Ariana, he hiked up his pants and ran as fast as he could into the distant trees. She felt suddenly exposed, and shivered with fear as they circled her like prey._

"_Earth to Ariana," the boy in front sneered, waving a hand in front of her face. "Come in, Ariana. Stop staring off into space and get some work done!"_

Ariana blinked, snapping back to reality, and felt her head spin. Standing in front of her was Gloria, her hand still raised as if to wave it in front of Ariana's eyes a second time. "There's new inventory in the back. Josie and I already made sure everything got delivered so all _you_ have to do is put it away. Oh – and order lunch. We're getting hungry."

What could she do? Josephine and Gloria had been there longer than she had, and wouldn't telling Mrs. Pennyfeather what was going on be like whining or tattling? Maybe all of them had had to start out this way when they were new…or maybe Ariana just couldn't win. At least, not here.

* * *

Once a week she and Beth met for dinner and a movie. They dubbed it "date night," playing on the fact that neither one of them ever actually had any real dates. It was an evening Ariana always looked forward to because it was her chance to actually be who she was without fearing rejection. It was a natural consequence to finding a kindred spirit. Though she knew Ariana was Morgana's sister, Beth never inquired into Ariana's magical abilities; it was a strange and welcome change for the twenty-year-old.

"If you don't mind my saying so," Beth was responding, "you deserve better. Maybe it's time to start looking for another job…but I don't want to tell you what to do!"

"No, you're right; I know you're right. I just…"

Her spectacled friend smiled sympathetically. "I know. I'm the same way. It took me forever to leave Bindler's."

"Do you ever regret it? Quitting, I mean."

"Sometimes. I mean, I'm tired of being ignored, and I'm tired of feeling like a nobody." Here Ariana nodded empathetically. "But things are kinda hard since I don't have any income anymore, and it's not like I have a lot of experience to be able to get another job right away." Beth smiled. "It's kind of ironic, don't you think?"

"What is?"

"Well, you basically started a new job when I quit mine. Our roles are reversed now." Beth paused, then looked at Ariana seriously. "Do you think I should ask for my job back?"

Ariana had to smile. Here Beth was advising to leave her job, where people took advantage of her and she didn't feel fulfilled, while at the same time asking if she should take back a job that held many of the same problems Ariana's did.

"No," Ariana said definitively, remembering the way Henny treated Beth. "I think you deserve better, too. But maybe I should just wait it out at the jewelry store…it's only been a couple of months. It could get better, right?"

Beth shrugged. "It could, but it could also get a whole lot worse."

* * *

Unfortunately for Ariana, the latter became true. She had only just entered the store when Mrs. Pennyfeather came up to her.

"I need to see you in my office, dear," she said in her kindly voice.

"O-okay…." Ariana replied wonderingly. She'd never been called back to Mrs. Pennyfeather's office before, and the last time she'd met with a supervisor alone, she'd lost her job. The memory nagged at the back of her mind, but she pushed it away. After all, she had been doing a fine job, hadn't she? At least she was doing her best…though she'd been doing her best at McDuck Studios, too.

Before she could work herself into a tangle of nerves, she entered Mrs. Pennyfeather's office and sat down.

"Now Ariana, dear," the elderly woman began. "I want to tell you upfront that I think you're a striking young lady with a lot of potential."

Ariana immediately blushed and looked down at her hands. She had never been able to accept compliments. But Mrs. Pennyfeather wasn't finished.

"That being said…I'm surprised at the level of your work ethic being reported by your peers."

Ariana's head shot up, her face a mixture of shock and disbelief. Maybe she'd heard Mrs. Pennyfeather wrong.

"It seems you haven't been addressing customer concerns yourself or helping with store clean-up, but have been letting the others pick up the slack. I have to say, Ariana, that this disappoints me."

Even though she knew that none of that was true, Ariana felt sick with shame. "But…" she stammered, "but I _do_ do my work! I _do_ help customers!" Heat rose in her body, but she kept control of her indignation. Mrs. Pennyfeather wasn't the one to be angry with…though Ariana felt a sense of personal attack. Didn't Mrs. Pennyfeather know her well enough by now to know this wasn't true? Of course not. The old avian was rarely in the store. She only had outside reports to fill her in.

Mrs. Pennyfeather raised a calm but firm hand. "You've got to realize this is a team effort. You're young, maybe you just don't understand the work environment yet. Everyone is assigned certain responsibilities; it's how a business is run. If someone doesn't fulfill the requirements of their position, then they need to be replaced, like a broken part. Does that make sense?"

Mrs. Pennyfeather's voice had taken on a tone that it hadn't before, one that easily cut through Ariana's fragile skin and struck already sensitive areas. It was thinly veiled condescendence. The elderly woman smiled once Ariana nodded. "Well, I'm glad we had this discussion. I have faith in you! Now see if you can help Barry shine up those diamond pieces for this month's birthstone sale."

Again Ariana nodded, more meekly this time. "Yes, ma'am."

It was all too surreal.

* * *

_Author's Note:_ Sorry for the SUPER LONG delay, guys. Just haven't been in the mood to write, and I've also been settling into my new job and new area. I'm going to try and get back to this, I promise! Please R&R. :)


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: _I apologize for the horrendously long wait it has been for an update! I hope I haven't lost readers, and hopefully will gain a few more the more that I add. Herein we finally see how Ariana and Negaduck officially "meet," and of course, Negaduck is never without a few tricks up his sleeve. Don't be so sure Ariana hasn't got a few surprises of her own, though... Please R&R! I'd really appreciate any feedback on the story thus far. :)  


* * *

**Chapter Nine**

_I hardly know you  
Face to face  
On the brink of the grave  
I won't persuade you_

_Like the snowflakes we will fly  
A dying dance, a silence cry  
We're at the peak now  
Face to face  
On the brink of the grave  
Don't turn around now_

_To step into the light  
Falling down  
To step into the light  
Falling down  
_~Masterplan, "Into the Light"_  
_

The line was moving slowly, as it usually did during the last fifteen minutes of every Thursday due to the rush of employees wanting to deposit or cash their weekly paychecks. Ariana was among them.

Despite an awkward yet curious start, she had quickly grown accustomed to depositing and withdrawing from her personal checking account, which gave her the tiniest spark of pride because it was a sign of normalcy and independence. She did not yet fully understand direct deposit – it felt much more reassuring and safe to be able to hand deliver the funds to the appropriate bank and obtain a printed slip proclaiming its addition to the monies already in place. Seeing the number increase every other week also encouraged a sense of accomplishment, although the job from which she received the payment did not.

It seemed that no matter what she did or how she did it, it was wrong, and every other day she found herself in Mrs. Pennyfeather's office being shrewdly berated for things she could never seem to get right. If she wasn't greeting customers properly, she was taking too long on her lunch break. If she was cleaning displays she wasn't using the right cleaner or wiping in the correct manner. She could never figure out what she was doing wrong because it changed every day. It didn't take very long for her spirit to break. She no longer tried to argue, but accepted criticism whole-heartedly and did her best to adapt to the ever-changing rules and expectations. What little self-confidence she had crumbled.

Gloria and Josephine noticed this and began shirking more of their responsibilities whenever one or both of them worked with Ariana. While in her mind Ariana was painfully aware of how unfair this was, she did not have the will to do anything about it. She felt hopelessly trapped, and the only thing she could do was keep telling herself that one day, things would change for the better. But the more it dragged on, the less belief she was able to put into those thoughts.

"I can help the next person over here," the teller to the far left called.

Ariana snapped out of her daze and started to move toward the counter when a slightly shorter figure in a trench coat and fedora shoved his way past her. She glared indignantly after him, but her eyes widened like saucers when she saw him pull out a rifle.

"I believe _I'm_ next!" a low, dark voice snapped, shoving a burlap bag at the teller. "I'd like to make a large withdrawal! And if anyone's got anything to say about it, they're gonna get their mangled limbs shoved into any orifice I see fit! Got it?"

The teller gulped and snatched up the bag to begin shoving it full with the money he had in the drawer. "Got it."

The burglar whirled on the crowd and smiled twistedly when met with gasps and cries of panic.

"Well, well, well," he crowed, "looks like I've got myself some hostages…"

The people nearest the doors tried to flee, only to find that the exits had been chained shut. There was no way out.

"I'm counting on the cops showing up, so you can go right ahead and press that silent alarm button all you want, sweetheart," he said to the teller farthest away from him, who had indeed been pressing the silent alarm. "The more the merrier! This town needs to realize that _I run things around here_."

The trench coat was flung off of his body, and the brown fedora was quickly replaced with a bright red one.

Ariana inhaled sharply. It was the same duck who had nearly shot her at the wharf. The same duck who had pushed her off of the rooftop…and, she believed, the one who had saved her.

"Everybody on the ground, now!" He fired one shot into the ceiling, and immediately all of the customers and employees were on the floor, watching the crazed public enemy with terror. "Those of you behind the counter, get out here where I can see you! Don't make me play duck, duck, dead…"

He watched them crawl into the open with satisfaction in his cold blue eyes, then he cocked his rifle.

"Now…who knows how to open the vault…?"

Twenty minutes later, Negaduck had an enormous sack of loot at his feet, and he was staring out of the window impatiently as the wail of police sirens drew closer. "It's about time those bloated blue buffoons showed up! Bay News 9 can't be far behind!" He chuckled and whirled on his audience with malicious glee. "Everybody be sure to smile for the cameras…!"

"_All right, Negaduck!_" came a shout from outside over what sounded like a bullhorn. "_Release any hostages you may have and come out with your hands up! We have the building surrounded!_"

_Negaduck…? _Ariana thought with interest. _So that's his name…_

"Oh yeah?!" Negaduck challenged loudly through a window he had shot out earlier. "You think you blubberheads scare me? _I'm _running the show now, and _I_ say that if I don't get two thermonuclear warheads by midnight tonight, you'll get your hostages back in _pieces_!"

"_You don't want to do that, Negaduck_," the officer shouted through the megaphone.

"The hell I don't! It seems you're not taking me seriously. Perhaps I'd better just start shooting…" In plain sight through the glass doors, Negaduck sauntered toward the cowering captives, cocked his rifle, and casually aimed it at different individuals. "Eenie…meenie…miney...!"

"_Stop!_" the officer yelled frantically. "_Don't shoot! I'll…see what I can do._"

Negaduck smirked, lowered the weapon, and replied through the broken glass, "That's more like it. Clock's ticking, chief. Better get a move on before I lose my patience."

With a whip of his black cape, the criminal turned to regard his prisoners, casting an unsettling and almost psychotic gaze over them. The way their bodies quivered filled him with more satisfaction than all the money in the world. The only thing better would be the addition of their terror-filled screams. In time, he told himself, the screams would come. Right now, these people were his leverage.

Looking from face to face, carefully instilling horror into each heart with his cold blue stare, he was met with one set of silver irises that made him pause. The blonde they belonged to was studying him quizzically, as if trying to solve a riddle. His satisfaction soured.

"What are you looking at?" he snapped.

Instantly her eyes broke away from his. "N-nothing…"

"N-nothing?" he retorted sardonically. "Look at me like that again, and I'll burn out your pretty little eyes with a blowtorch!" When she neither moved nor reacted, Negaduck placed the end of the rifle beneath her bill and forced her chin up. Her eyes stayed down and averted from him. He chuckled darkly. "Good girl…"

The tail of his cape brushed her cheek as he stepped by her. Ariana trembled inside, but remained stark still on the outside. She had learned long ago that showing too much fear only heightened the severity of dangerous situations.

"Let's see if we made the evening news, shall we?" said Negaduck nonchalantly, flopping into a nearby office chair and putting his feet up on the counter. He set the rifle down next to him, close enough that he could grab it in less than a second should anyone make a move.

Silently the group watched the television suspended from the ceiling flicker on, and the nasally yet charismatic voice of Tom Lockjaw filled the room.

"…at the scene of what appears to be a tragically fatal, yet mysterious, accident. A motorcyclist lost control of his bike and collided with a nearby streetlamp. The lamp then fell across the road, blocking the traffic across Downing Street for hours. Sparks from the electricity started a fire, which ignited the motorcycle, and rescue workers have been unable to recover a body." The camera zoomed in on the twisted, flaming metal of a red and purple motorcycle, most of it charred and smoking. "Although the driver has not been found, it is apparent from the flames and wreckage that the individual could not have survived. Back to you, Paul."

Negaduck erupted into a fit of gleeful guffaws. "It worked! I _knew_ he'd never notice if I disconnected the brakes on that idiotic bike of his. Now I'm rid of that buffoon once and for all, and _no one_ can stop me from becoming Public Enemy Number One!!"

He allowed himself another minute or two of gloating and cackling, while the hostages glanced nervously in confusion at one another. Who was he talking about?

Abruptly he silenced himself and sat up when his mugshot filled the screen. The news had moved on to the next live report.

"…villainous Negaduck, a rising threat to the innocent populace of St. Canard, is currently holding hostages at gunpoint inside of the Sitting Duck National Bank." The camera panned from the live reporter to a shot of the bank. "According to police, no one inside has yet been hurt but this madman could be capable of anything. Police are not reporting what his demands are or the identities of the hostages, but are proceeding with caution. More information as this story develops. I'm Bianca Beakley, Bay News 9."

The channel changed. Negaduck was apparently looking for more news channels that may be covering the story. While he was occupied, Ariana took the opportunity to resume her scrutiny.

What would make someone steal from other people? Why him? He seemed more interested in threatening them than in the money itself. And he had used that word again earlier…"pretty". She seemed to be running into him a lot lately.

"_Negaduck! I have the mayor here to talk to you._"

With a snarl, the masked mallard stormed over to the window and glowered into the fading sunlight. "This had better be good…" he muttered.

"_This is Mayor Trufflebottom. Are all of the hostages okay?_"

"The longer you flap your gums, the less chance of that there is!" Negaduck bellowed. "Where are my warheads??"

"_We're getting clearance for them from the Duckburg military base as we speak._"

"Blahblahblah, talk is cheap!"

"_But there are regulations to abide by… Rules! A chain of command._"

"Chains were made for breaking! You're wasting my time, bud. Waste my time again, and I'll waste one of these pathetic peons!"

Negaduck's attention diverted for the time being, the hostages began whispering among themselves. Some wanted to make an escape plan while others pleaded to stay put. Ariana listened silently until a movement caught the corner of her vision. Two men dressed in black padded uniforms crept toward them. One put his finger to his lips and glanced toward Negaduck, who was still yelling out of the window, while the other motioned them toward him.

Gradually the other hostages noticed the two men, who must have come in through the back door. One woman unwisely cried, "Oh, thank God! The S.W.A.T. team!"

"_What?!_" Negaduck screamed, whirling around. He lumbered away from the window and dove for his rifle, a second too late in snagging it as one of the citizens snatched it up. "You're gonna pay for that, bub…" the villain snarled.

"Stop right there, Negaduck!" one of the S.W.A.T. officers barked, moving in front of the hostages and aiming a tazer at the villain.

Negaduck didn't stop. "You think I need a gun to take care of the likes of you two? Ha!"

"Not another step, Negaduck, or I'll be forced to use this on you!"

"Oooooo, I'm _really scared_."

"You asked for it." The officer pulled the trigger, but at the last second, the public enemy dodged, and the twin wires attached themselves to the second officer, who had been sneaking up behind Negaduck. The second officer's eyes bulged, and his entire body began convulsing as he collapsed to the flood. "Sorry, Fred…" his partner mumbled.

"You were saying…?" the masked duck said slyly, moving toward the black-dressed figure.

"Everybody cover your faces and run!" the officer shouted as he pulled a small canister from his belt and threw it on the ground.

A loud hissing sound erupted from the small can, combined with two streams of bright yellow gas. In seconds the room was shrouded in the yellow mist. Ariana's eyes welled up with tears, and it felt like all of the air was being sucked from her lungs. She heard others gasping for air and stumbling toward the back of the building. The gas made her feel light-headed and dizzy, and her body threatened to shut itself down. Blind gunshots and feeble screams rang through the air in a cacophony of sound, and in the back of her mind she wondered what would happen to the mallard in the yellow suit.

She didn't have to wonder long.

As she staggered to her feet, she felt an arm wrench around her neck and yank her backward, cutting off her air supply. Her pulse quickened, and she could feel herself begin to sweat with cold fear. The barrel of a gun was pressed against her temple.

"You're not going anywhere…" a deep menacing voice hissed. It sounded muffled, as if he had something over his face.

She struggled to inhale as her captor pulled her backward toward the teller stalls. What air she managed to get in remained tainted with gas, and she gagged, trying hard not to vomit. He dragged her behind the desks, pushed her to the ground, and crouched over her, a finger pressed warningly against his beak. She nodded, fighting unconsciousness.

"Stay back!!" Negaduck snarled as two more officers entered, guns drawn and gas masks over their faces. "Drop your weapons, or she dies!"

The policemen immediately dropped their guns and put their hands up, backing away slowly. "I thought his gun was taken away…"

"You think I'm dumb enough to carry only _one_?"

"Think, Negaduck…you don't really want to do this…" one of them tried to reason.

"What is WITH you people? I'll do whatever the hell I want! Now shut up and tell your chief that no one comes in here without _my_ say-so! No more hide-and-seek, no more clever little plans to bring me down. _Get me my warheads or she dies_." As if to prove his point, he pulled back the hammer. Ariana calmly closed her eyes, and the dizziness began to subside. She felt far away, detached and inexplicably safe.

As the cops retreated, Negaduck picked up the sack full of money with his free hand and pointed Ariana toward a back room. The air was clearer in the rear section of the bank, but the fresh oxygen to her lungs didn't make Ariana feel any better. They reached the elevator and rode it to the top floor in silence. Ever present in her mind was the pressure of the gun against her body and the cold glint in his eyes from above the red turtleneck he'd covered his bill with. She didn't protest, didn't struggle, didn't attempt to escape. As soon as he'd shoved her into a small corner office and followed her inside, he began chuckling darkly to himself.

Pulling the red material from his beak, he regarded her cruelly. "Looks like it's just you and me, sweetcheeks. As long as you do whatever I tell you, you may get out of this…_mostly_ alive."

Artificial light from both the streetlights and the police spotlights was the only thing illuminating portions of the tiny corner office they'd been sitting in for the past few hours. Bathed in partial shadow, Ariana had made doubly sure to do as Negaduck had ordered and not look at him, though the darkness gave her ample opportunity to steal a few fleeting glances. Something about him intrigued her. It was obvious that he was dangerous, someone not to be trifled with. And yet…if that was all there was to him, why would he have he hesitated to gun her down in the warehouse? Why had he rescued her from falling?

An edgy scoff startled her. For a moment she was afraid he'd caught her peering, but his eyes were on the officers stationed below.

"Five hours and those idiots haven't budged," he muttered lowly. "Do they really want to test me? I've got plenty of bombs back at the hideout to show I mean business…" He smirked and raised his pistol to the glass, closing one eye to aim. "Or maybe I could just assassinate the mayor…" He made a mock gunshot sound with his bill and chuckled.

"What are you going to do?"

Startled, Negaduck pulled back from the window, eyes wide for a second before he remembered his hostage. "I almost forgot about you…" he said forebodingly. With a sly smirk he moved closer to her and sat on top of one of the filing cabinets.

"What are you going to do when you get what you want?" she repeated, a little firmer this time. She had no idea where she was getting the nerve to even speak to him.

"Oh gee, you know, I thought I'd take the warheads and make ART out of'em. Whaddaya think?? First thing I'm going to do is blow up the capitol and put ME in charge."

"But…wouldn't the radiation…?"

Negaduck stopped to ponder this for a moment, then bristled defensively. "I'll kill everyone and then build my empire elsewhere!"

"Kill everyone? Then who'll be left to - ?"

"No, no, I'll only kill those who oppose me!" He chuckled darkly at the thought of the mangled bodies of his enemies strewn across the landscape. "Everyone else will _serve_ me and _fear_ me on pain of death!"

She was quiet for a moment, and for that he was grateful. He didn't like people questioning him, especially little blonde bimbos.

Finally she looked back at him, trying to understand. "But no one will want to serve you if – "

"QUIET!" he roared. In one leap and two stomps he stood glowering mere inches from where she sat. "Unless you want me to paint the walls with your brains…"

Confusion crossed her face. "Then how will you get the warheads?"

He ground his teeth together and spun away from her with a snarl, storming back to the window to glare down at the law.

She watched him quietly, unable to believe what had just happened. What had made her say those things? She was trembling on the inside, terrified of what he might do, yet she was challenging him. This wasn't like her at all, and that fact scared her even more than he did. The last time she'd confronted a madman, it hadn't ended well for her at all.

"Those blockheads have two hours," he muttered. "Then it's bye-bye birdie." He popped out the barrel of the pistol and swung it listlessly, enjoying the metallic clicking as it spun off of his palm. A thought struck him, and he emptied all but one bullet from the weapon and smiled slyly at Ariana. "I know what we can do…a little Russian roulette!" He snapped the barrel back in and aimed squarely at her head. "Wanna play…?"

When she didn't show any reaction except to look up at him somberly, he scoffed.

"What's with you? Trying to convince me you're not afraid of dying?"

"Of course I'm afraid to die," she murmured slowly. "But I'm no longer afraid of how it will happen."

"Don't tell me you're not afraid of me!" he snapped. "_I'm Negaduck!_" He pulled back the hammer, his brow knitted in an intense, merciless glower. "Soon to be Public Enemy Number One! There's _no one_ in this _city_ that isn't afraid of me!" He readjusted his grip on the pistol, but his aim was steady. His voice lowered into a growl. "This will be _my_ city, and if people don't fear me, I will _make them fear me_! Starting with you…"

His finger tightened around the trigger, and Ariana's body tensed, awaiting the shot. Instead of gunfire, however, a dull click sounded from the weapon, and Negaduck sniggered as she tentatively opened one eye that had been tightly shut.

"Bravado doesn't suit you. Now, let's see if you make it through round two…"

"_Negaduck!_" The mayor's voice over the bullhorn startled the criminal and causing him to fire the gun again, this time propelling a bullet through the floorboard, just barely missing his right foot. "_We have the warheads as you asked! Now let the hostage go!_"

The criminal chuckled and scanned the street below eagerly as he threw open the window. "I wanna see them! _Now!_"

"_First show us the hostage!_"

A scowl embedded itself across his beak, as he hastily beckoned her to his side. Ariana stumbled over toward him and peered out of the window. The city streets were bathed in moonlight, and down below was a whirl of red and blue. She could hardly make out the shapes of the officers.

Just as her eyes were adjusting to the extra light, she felt Negaduck's rough hand on her shoulder, and he shoved her backward.

"There! You've seen her! Where are my warheads??"

"_They were too large to bring into the city, Negaduck. They're sitting just inside of the bay. You'll need to come out here and we'll take you to their location._"

The villain's lip curled back scornfully. "How stupid do they think I am?" As he was about to retort, a thought struck him, and he suddenly smiled. Ariana felt a chill go down her spine. "All right…" he muttered. "Let's go on a little field trip."

With deftness, Negaduck reloaded his pistol then pocketed it before snatching her by the wrist. Apparently she wasn't enough of a threat to him to even bother keeping a weapon pointed at her, a fact which Ariana was grateful for. She followed him obediently, though she had some difficulty keeping up with his wide gait, and found herself wondering what he had planned that he would walk into such an obvious trap. He didn't seem unintelligent; in fact she thought him quite shrewd, but his instability kept her questions silent.

Once they'd arrived back on the first floor, Ariana was surprised to find it empty and silent. Negaduck was unfazed, however, and continued dragging her through the lobby toward the front doors. Grinding his teeth in a sinister grin, the criminal pulled something round and black from his pocket. "Those idiots will rue the day they -- "

Before he could finish he was violently thrown backward, and it wasn't until she saw the red stain spreading across his shoulder that Ariana registered the sound of breaking glass. A sniper bullet had pierced the window; she could see the tiny hole, and beyond that the S.W.A.T. team barreling forward, taking their chance while the enemy was down.

Everything seemed to be going in slow motion. The bomb slipping from Negaduck's limp arm, his body crashing backward onto the marble floor, the cries of the officers telling her to run outside -- nothing was making sense. Everything was so gradual, yet it was all happening too fast. The blood darkened against Negaduck's yellow suit and his eyes squeezed shut in pain behind the black mask. Two more bullets ripped through his feathered skin, one in the chest, the other in the thigh. A roar exploded from his beak, filling the air until it was the only thing Ariana became aware of.

It wasn't until that instant that she knew exactly what she had to do. Seeing the officers were mere feet away from the bank entrance, Ariana bent beside the fallen villain and grabbed him under the arms. Obscenities spewed from him as more pain shot through his body and his blood began to escape with renewed effort, overwhelming him and eventually causing him to completely black out.

"_Aperio prodigium ad claustrum!_" she shouted desperately, pulling his limp frame up enough that she could drag him. Just as the black-uniformed posse broke through the main doors, a tremendous wind kicked up, forcing them back, and a glowing light blue gateway appeared out of thin air. Before they knew what was happening, Ariana had heaved Negaduck and herself through it, mustering all of the strength she had to do so, then yelled, "_Termino!_" before the S.W.A.T. officers could follow.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Ten**

_How could you paint this picture,  
With life as bad as it should seem,  
That there were no more options for you?  
I can't explain how I feel,  
I've been there many times before,  
I've tasted the cold steel of my life crashing down before me_

_But these words  
They can't replace  
The life you  
The life you waste_

~Staind, "Waste"

Negaduck groaned and opened his eyes with some difficulty. A heavy sleep clung to him, his body feeling as weighted as if he had a hundred dumbbells strapped to him As the blurred shapes began taking on more definition, however, he felt his mind jerk into awareness. Where the blazes was he?

The room was small and dingy, and from the looks of the shabby desk, chair, and file cabinet it had once been an office. Sunlight streamed through the window behind the desk, fighting its way through broken glass and bent blinds. Beneath his weight he could feel the sag of old leather and the strain of rusted springs. It took a moment more before he realized he was in one of his old hideouts and not inside a jail cell.

Surprised, he sat up and immediately regretted the action. His head throbbed and he felt weak. Crashing back onto the lumpy cushions, he tried to recall how he had gotten there. The last thing he could remember was demanding warheads from the top of the Sitting Duck National Bank…then he'd been about to blow up the police force…

His eyes widened and he felt around his chest in a panic. He'd been shot! Those idiots had shot him! But nothing met his worried fingers. No blood, no wound…not even a scar. Absolutely nothing except the stiff feathers covering his body. _What the…?_ he thought to himself, raising an eyebrow and scratching his head. Had he dreamt the entire thing? It had seemed so real, and he'd been planning that heist for weeks. No explanation was coming to mind. Was he going mad? There were still bullet holes in his costume…

A cloud of suspicion was slowly forming in the back of his mind, accompanied by an unsettling tension. Something was going on here, and he was going to get to the bottom of it. Too impatient to wait for his body to adjust to waking life, he sprang off of the dilapidated sofa and stomped through the office, raiding it for any evidence as to what had brought him here. He hadn't used this particular hideout in weeks.

Finding nothing of interest, except for a few choice weapons he'd left behind -- which he pocketed -- Negaduck made his way into the adjoining room that had served as a conference room. It was empty save for the debris from the caving ceiling and decrepit walls, and he walked through it planning to investigate the warehouse just beyond the far doorway. The aching in his joints seemed to increase as he moved, but he pushed the pain aside. He made it only a few paces before something caught his peripheral vision. Whirling toward the shape, dagger drawn at the ready, his beady eyes fell upon a young woman, sound asleep. Without dropping his guard he approached her, scrutinizing her shrewdly from every angle.

At least ten years his junior, she was slender and pale, more like a sleeping doll than a living, breathing avian. Her blonde hair fell in light, hasty locks that trailed onto the dirty floor, gold on sandpaper, and her eyes were framed with thick black lashes that offset the pallor of her flawless plumage. The tiny hint of a smile graced her delicate beak, and she appeared so serene and lovely that Negaduck felt increasingly sick to his stomach the more he stared at her. Though he had seen her thrice before, this was the first time he had actually _looked_ at Ariana McCawber.

Well, she'd be eating food through a _straw_ once he was done with her. Hadn't he already warned this pest _once_ not to trespass in his hideouts? Kneeling beside her, he put the dagger to her throat. _No wake-up call this time, girly…_ None too kindly he hissed, "All right, whoever you are…you've got _one_ second to-!"

"Stop!" she whimpered. "Please, don't."

He smirked. Finally, some begging. He was going to enjoy this.

"You can't…you can't be here. They'll catch you…"

One of his eyebrows lifted quizzically. Nobody knew where he was, because he changed hideouts so often…unless she had called the police. The thought made his teeth grind together, and he pressed the blade harder against the white feathers of her neck.

Just as he was about to slice, he realized her eyes were still closed, and it made him all the angrier. She was dreaming, completely unaware of what was happening. Not only that, but it had been _she_ that had pulled him out of the bank. A public enemy of _his_ stature and renown, saved by the likes of some weak-minded ninny! This enraged him more than the fact that he hadn't obtained his warheads and didn't seem to have come away with any of the bank's money. He ought to cut her throat for the sheer embarrassment! But _why_ had she done it? Why hadn't she let them catch him? For that matter, how had she evaded the authorities?

If he wanted answers, he couldn't kill her just yet. He pocketed the knife, but he'd be damned if he was going to wait for her to wake up on her own. Taking a firm grip on each of her shoulders, he was about to jolt her awake when she started to scream.

"It wasn't me! It was an accident! I didn't kill him, I swear! Please, let me go! _Don't!_" She began struggling fervently against invisible foes, pulling herself from Negaduck's claws as she pleaded.

The villain sat back momentarily, intrigued.

"I'll never use magic in the village again…" she whispered brokenly. "Please…don't do this…"

He raised an eyebrow. Magic? Absently his fingers found the non-existent wounds on his person while he contemplated the new clue, but he wasn't able to concentrate with her carrying on so pathetically. In frustration he grabbed her by the upper arms and shook her violently.

"Wake up!" he snarled, patience lost as she continued to snivel.

It wasn't until the third or fourth jar that her eyes popped open, and she gasped for air as if it had all been stolen from her lungs. Disoriented, she skittered away from Negaduck and looked around the room like a caged bird desperate for freedom. He gripped the knife more firmly and watched her warily. Small beads of sweat had appeared on her forehead, and she wiped them away hastily as she tried to catch her breath. The same nightmare. Nearly every night, the same nightmare.

Finally she seemed to remember where she was and what was happening. She regarded Negaduck with some recognition, but it was obvious she was a bit cautious as well.

"Oh, good…" she said softly. "You're awake. I was afraid that I was too out of practice to save you…" Her eyes fell to the dagger in his possession, but she didn't even flinch. "How are you feeling?"

"Who _are_ you?!" he snarled, not wanting to beat around the bush. If she was either a threat or useless to him, he would take all the pleasure in the world murdering her where she sat.

"I-I…My name is Ariana…" she started carefully. She wasn't sure how much she should tell this mallard who'd been waving around a rifle at innocent people as if it were a flag on Independence Day. "I…I rescued you." She fell silent, but he only glared at her. It made her feel suddenly uncomfortable, so she continued. "We've met before…well, I mean, I've seen you before. Do you…do you remember me…?"

"How did I get here??" he barked, ignoring her comment.

"I-I brought you here."

"How?! You couldn't have slipped past the cops, there's no WAY you –" His head snapped back to her and he stared at her accusingly. "Unless…you're _working_ with them!"

"What?" she exclaimed, taken aback. "No I'm not! I-I'm not working with anyone!"

He folded his arms. "Prove it."

She was silent for a few moments, looking desperately at the floor. Meanwhile Negaduck began searching for bugs or surveillance devices, ignoring his throbbing head and body.

"I…I don't know, I…i-if I was working with the police, then why wouldn't I have let them arrest you at the bank?"

The hunt put on hold for the moment, the villain turned to retort, "Oh yeah? Then why didn't you leave while I was out? Why stay here…in imminent danger?" He grinned darkly and chuckled.

"I was worri—"

A knife was back at her neck. "You got any family, kid?" he demanded suddenly.

"Don't call me 'kid'!" Her eyes flashed angrily, and he grinned. There was some spitfire hidden behind that disgustingly innocent face. "Why do you want to know about my family?"

"Because…" he replied smoothly, his deep voice rumbling with malicious intent. "I'm sure they'll pay handsomely to get their precious so-and-so back..."

"Ariana."

"Whatever."

She almost smiled. The subtle wryness in her expression was unmasked in her voice. "They won't pay to have me back. I'm sure they'd pay _you_ just to keep me away."

"Is that so? Heh, heh, sounds like a few of _my_ relatives…"

"You have a family?"

His entire demeanor darkened instantly. "We're not talking about me, dollface. Give me one good reason I shouldn't cut your pretty little throat right now…" He seemed to drool with desire to do just that, but she merely regarded him with a quizzical, wounded look.

"Why do you keep saying that…?"

The fangs that had been growing with his evil thoughts glimmered. "Aww, what's the matter? Don't like being threatened?"

"Well n-no, I don't, but that's not what I meant. I meant 'pretty.' Why do you keep saying that…? I'm not pretty."

The fangs retracted somewhat as he was thrown off guard by her answer. "Oh, I don't know, some broken bones, bloody feathers, and a fat lip might do it…care for a makeover?" He leaned toward her menacingly, but to his surprise, she smiled and started to giggle.

Revolted at the sweet sound, Negaduck backed away from her and grimaced as if she'd just turned into a Little Lost Bunny. This girl was definitely a little…different…than any other hostage he'd had before. Ariana couldn't help herself, and once she'd started, she couldn't seem to stop.

The public enemy covered his ears and thundered impatiently, "_Do you have a death wish?!_"

Her initial delight subsided, and Ariana took a couple of deep breaths. "I'm sorry, it's just…no one's ever said anything like that to me before."

"Can't imagine why," Negaduck muttered to himself, then pointed the knife at her to punctuate his next affirmation. "I'm _not_ walking away from this empty-handed. Either I get a ridiculously large ransom, or I kill you right here, right now."

Her eyebrows narrowed slightly. She had gone out of her way to rescue this mallard, and all he could do was threaten and demean her. "You won't be getting any ransom," she declared spitefully, getting to her feet. "Not now or ever. Not on my behalf, anyway."

Negaduck began using the knife to preen his nails, and decided to try a different route to get the information he wanted. There was only one witch he knew of in St. Canard, and magic-users tended to stick together.

"You sure you don't have any relatives around here, _Ariana_?" He emphasized her name sardonically, to which she folded her arms.

"Just one," she said, "but she wouldn't sink to the likes of dealing with _you_. Even if it was to help me."

Much to Ariana's surprise, rather than raging at her assertion, he merely chuckled.

"Is that so?" He knew he'd hit a good angle and added nonchalantly, "Her name wouldn't be _Morgana_, would it?"

She tensed slightly. He smiled like a wolf.

"I thought so…" He flicked a few fingernail scrapings away and pocketed the knife.

Now her eyes were locked on his curiously. "How do you know her?"

"We run with the same crowd…" he said vaguely. "She's a first rate criminal…" When she raised both eyebrows in surprise, he continued. "Aww, didn't you know? Looks like she hasn't been completely honest with you..."

"That's not true! "

"Oh…? You should ask her how she paid back those student loans of hers… How she used a pizza topping business as a front for an organized crime ring..."

Ariana was too thrown off by his statements to notice the devious glint in the eyes behind his black mask. Now both of her brows were furrowed, but Negaduck saw the subtle uncertainty in her face.

"My sister isn't a criminal." Though she put forth a stony expression, her tone wavered.

He shrugged. "Fine, don't believe me. But it _is_ true." His careless expression suddenly shifted into his usual sinister stare, and he took a step toward her. "And if I'm not going to get any ransom, then I want a cut of her profits…a _big_ cut. Tell her that, and if she doesn't give me what I want, I'll hunt down you _both_ and they'll have to use _tweezers_ to find all the pieces!" Another maniacal chuckle escaped his beak, but Ariana only glared and folded her arms again.

"My sister isn't a criminal," she repeated firmly. "Look, I'm glad you're all right, but I'm going home now." It was bad enough that he had insulted and threatened her earlier, but now he was bringing her sister into it! She had had enough. She began to stalk away, but paused and looked over her shoulder to add, "And by the way? You're welcome."

Negaduck smirked. His instincts told him to waste her right then and there, but his calculating mind had other plans. The warehouse door slammed shut behind her, and even after the ominous echo had long faded, the devious smile on his bill remained.

* * *

She felt strangely uneasy on the walk home. Although she refused to believe him, Negaduck's words had unsettled her. Morgana couldn't possibly be a criminal…her pizza topping business had fallen through, but that didn't mean it had been illegal! Then again, why had Morgana felt the need to hide the money she'd made from the sale? If she had wanted to place the money in the bank, why not do so outright instead of keeping it in all of those safes? It seemed so odd, now that she really thought about it.

She shook her head. That inconsiderate, self-absorbed mallard had her second guessing her sister! Of all the absurdities, Morgana would never lie to her. They told each other everything.

Why she had even bothered to help that duck was beyond her. He was ungrateful and conniving, and clearly didn't care about other people in the slightest. Yet he had saved her life…and he hadn't taken the opportunity to harm her when he'd had multiple chances… It didn't make any sense.

On top of that, she had no idea why she had reacted so strongly to him. She never spoke to _anyone_ that way. It was as if all of her normal barriers were down around him and she could freely say exactly what was on her mind. What about him made that happen? It was all too confusing for her, even after she passed through the rickety black gate and wandered back into the home she now shared with her sister.  
"Ari?" Morgana's voice rang hopefully from the back of the house. Footsteps preceded her, then suddenly she was there. "Oh, it _is_ you! Where have you been?!" Ariana's older sibling embraced her quickly, then pulled back with a demanding expression on her face.

Ariana blinked. "You don't know?"

Morgana shook her head, frustrated. "Of _course_ not! How _would_ I know? You never came home after work yesterday!" Worry creased her brow. "Did something bad happen to you?"

The young blonde averted her eyes. "W-well…"

"Who was it?" Morgana cried, at once filled with protective fury. Her green eyes flashed in the dim light, and Ariana felt a mixture of comfort and indignation at her sister's assumption. "Tell me, and I'll make them sorry they ever messed with a McCawber!"

"It wasn't like that, Morgana," Ariana corrected her timidly. "I just…the bank I went to yesterday to deposit my paycheck got robbed…"

The witch inhaled sharply. "You mean _you_ were at that bank that Negaduck held up yesterday?"

Ariana nodded.

"But they got all of the hostages out! …Except one…"

Even as Morgana's eyes filled with disbelief, her sister nodded. "He kept me there with him."

"You must have been so frightened!"

"No…not really…"

Morgana stared at Ariana, flummoxed. "But it was _Negaduck_! Surely he threatened you…" Her eyes flashed again, and her lithe fingers balled up into fists. "If he hurt you, I'll--!"

"He didn't hurt me. In fact, he let me go this morning."

"What? This morning? But…" One of Morgana's hands flew to her bill as a realization overcame her. "The news said that the authorities couldn't find any sign of Negaduck…or his hostage…after they raided the building. Ari…you didn't…"

"Well I couldn't just _leave_ him there!"

"Why not? If given the chance he would have left _you_! He's a public enemy! A criminal! He could have _killed_ you. You don't realize how serious this is! What if the SWAT team finds out who you are and decides you're an accomplice? Did you think of that?"

Ariana looked away from the outraged woman, her eyes falling on the floor and indicating that she, indeed, hadn't thought of that.

"No…"

Morgana sighed. "Lucky for you, they haven't. Negaduck's hostage is still 'unidentified' as far as they're concerned. What were you _thinking_?" She locked eyes with her younger sister, looking at her in a sincere and motherly way that made Ariana feel immediately defensive.

Ariana looked down at her hands. Could she really tell Morgana that she had seen Negaduck three times before, and that once he had saved her life? Morgana didn't seem to realize it was he that had brought her back home the night she'd fallen from the roof. Because of his reputation, Ariana wondered if it was her place to reveal his rescue of her to anyone, though she hated to keep anything from her sister.

"Well?"

"It's just…maybe he's not all bad," Ariana offered slowly. Morgana scarcely held back a snort of contempt.

"'Not all bad'? Ariana, do you know how _dangerous_ he is?! He held you and countless other innocent people at _gunpoint_!"

"He could have hurt me, Morgana, but he didn't."

"And that makes him some kind of a saint? Do you know how many crimes he's committed? How many people he's hurt?"

"Like Father? But you never had much to say about that."

Morgana's eyes narrowed, and she spoke through clenched teeth. "Leave Father out of this…"

"Look," Ariana said gently, trying to calm herself down, "I don't want to fight with you."

Taking a few deep breaths of her own, Morgana put a hand to her forehead and nodded. "Neither do I."

They were quiet for a few minutes before Ariana swallowed and interrupted the awkward silence. She hoped that by changing the subject, they could forget the argument, and she could find out some answers tothe questions that had been on her mind.

"…Morgana?" She waited for her sister to look her in the eyes before she continued. "What _really_ happened to McCawber Mushrooms?"

"What do you mean? It wasn't working out, so I sold the business. I told you that."

"But what made it stop working? The last I heard, things were great…"

"Well, that was four years ago when I had just moved here and started it up. I had hoped that the business would pay off my student loans."

"Are they paid off now?"

"Yes, with the money from the sale." Morgana raised an eyebrow. "What's with the interrogation?"

"It's nothing, I just…wanted to know."

"My employees weren't much to speak of, either. But all that's in the past."

"What did the person who bought the business do with it?"

Morgana shrugged. "I don't know, I didn't keep up with it."

Silence fell over them again, with Ariana trying to think of how to word her next questions and Morgana fidgeting slightly on the couch.

"You haven't eaten all day, have you?" The hem of her crimson dress dragged gracefully behind her as Morgana got up and walked across the room. "Let me fix you some –"

"Where did that door lead?" Ariana interrupted, impatient to get the answers she needed.

Morgana's green eyes flickered momentarily to the spot where the freestanding door had stood a few weeks before. "What door?"

"Don't pretend you don't know," Ariana replied firmly. "The one that was in the middle of the living room when I came here."

"Oh, that? It was a…it was…uh…"

"It was a portal, wasn't it? Where did it go? Who were you talking to? And what was in the bag you were holding when you came out…?"

"You were _spying_ on me?!" Morgana demanded, taking two steps back toward her sister. Ariana stood up, though she was still half a head shorter than Morgana.

"I had to! You weren't giving me any straight answers!"

"I can't _believe_ you would do that!" the witch raged.

"Somebody told me you made that business as a cover for a criminal operation _and_ that you stole that money you paid your loans back with! Is it true?"

"How can you think that of me?"

"I need to know, Morgana. Is it true?"

Morgana narrowed her eyes dangerously, and her entire body tensed with anger. Ariana began to worry that she had gone too far. Deep down, though, she knew that if what she'd heard wasn't true, Morgana would say so. She trusted Morgana more than any person in her life.

Surprisingly, Morgana's pointed shoulders finally slumped in defeat, and she exhaled loudly as if dropping an enormous weight that had been pulling her down.

"I didn't want to tell you…I knew you wouldn't like it, and…I was afraid you'd hate me…"

Ariana blinked, then stared at her sibling with confusion and concern. "Morgana…"

"It's true, okay? McCawber Mushrooms was just a front so that I could run every other pizza topping business out of town. I was making mutant mushrooms so that I could terrorize people out of their money…but someone found out and stopped me." Green eyes fell away from silver ones, and it was Morgana's turn to look at the floor. "So I moved across town…here…and used the doorway to get into Dream World. I made a deal with the ruler there so that I could use his sleepsand and steal from everyone while they were dreaming. I was talking to him when you saw me…and I was carrying sleepsand. I paid back my loans with the money I took."

"That was what was in those safes?"

She nodded.

"Morgana…" Ariana repeated in the same tone. She was filled with disappointment, hurt, trepidation, and disbelief. "Why didn't you tell me…?"

"Oh Ariana, please…don't be angry."

"Of _course_ I'm angry! Why didn't you tell me you needed money? That you needed help? Couldn't Father have just paid for your loans?"

Morgana shook her head. "He said they were my responsibility to pay since he'd paid for the other part of my tuition at the academy. And anyway, how could you have helped me?"

"I don't know, but you know how I feel about stealing…and lying…"

"I'm sorry I lied to you, but…I was so happy to have you back, I—"

"You _are _a criminal…" Ariana said softly, feeling suddenly short of breath. The world was doing flip-flops around her. She had to lean on the arm rest to keep from falling over.

"I _tried_ to do the business legitimately at first, but the money I got the other way was just too…tempting! Our coursework was a bit…different at Eldritch than yours was at Webminster."

"You mean you twisted it that way."

Morgana frowned. "Things changed since I went to school, Ari. _I_ changed. But now I'm beginning to think this was all a mistake…"

Ariana nodded with a sardonic expression. "Oh _really_? Turn yourself in, then."

"Ariana, you can't…"

"Turn yourself in! Make it right! Give that money back!" Ariana's voice had turned high and shrill, but she didn't care. She was much too upset at this newfound information from someone she had always looked up to and trusted.

"It's already gone! And anyway—"

"I have to go," Ariana breathed, her heart pounding. "I can't even look at you anymore!"

Morgana moved toward her sister worriedly. "Ariana, please, just calm down."

"I can't!" Ariana cried. "The person I love most in the world is a criminal and a liar!"

"Ari, wait!"

But by the time Morgana's call reached her ears, Ariana had bolted out of the house and was running up DeSpell Lane. She wasn't sure how to get there, but she needed the shelter of someone she knew and trusted. Someone she felt safe with because right now, her world was falling apart. It felt as shattering to her as when she'd discovered what her father really had had planned for the villagers. She needed the comfort of a friend. She needed Beth.

As she rounded a corner and blindly ran north, the sky opened up and poured sheets of water over St. Canard. The sudden storm hardly impeded her, though her mood wasn't helped by the gloomy foreboding that the rain brought with it. Her long hair clung to her shoulders, back, and face like spiders, and her dress suctioned itself to her slender frame. Although her mind was set on Beth, her feet were taking her wherever they willed. She had no idea where she was, but she was glad to be out of McCawber Manor.

He had been right. That ill-mannered, tempestuous mallard had been right. Her sister _had_ been lying to her. Her sister was, indeed, a criminal. If Morgana had been lying about that…what else had been a lie?

"_What do you and Father do when you go downstairs?" Morgana asked curiously, sitting on the castle steps next to her younger sibling. "And why does he lock the door?"_

"_He says it's a secret," Ariana replied quietly. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone, not even you."_

_Morgana frowned, her nine-year-old face screwed up in thought. "But why?"_

_The other child shrugged. "I dunno, he didn't say…" Ariana studied her sister's face carefully before adding worriedly, "'Gana? You're not mad at me 'cause Father takes me downstairs and not you, are you?"_

_Morgana forced a smile. "Of course I'm not. I just wondered what you did, that's all."_

"_If you want, I'll tell you anyway!" Ariana whispered conspiratorially. "Then you can know all the same spells as me!"_

"_Spells?" Her sister blinked. "You're learning new spells?"_

_Ariana made an "oops" face, then nodded sheepishly._

"_Hey…what's that?" Morgana pointed to a couple of bruises dotting Ariana's wrist. Instinctively, Ariana pulled her arm behind her back and out of her sister's view._

"_Nothing. I just didn't do it right."_

_Morgana pursed her lips together, but didn't say anything. Even for her young age, she was wise enough to know exactly what was going on._

"'_Gana…?"_

"_What, Ari?"_

"…_I miss Mommy."_

_Morgana put an arm around her sister's shoulders and hugged her. "I miss her, too."_

She ran until the stitch in her side forced her to stop and the tears in her eyes blurred her vision too much for her to see clearly. Putting one arm against a nearby brick wall for balance, Ariana doubled over to catch her breath and to wait for the pain to subside.

_The rolled-up diploma crumpled slightly in her nervous grip as she watched Moloculo schmooze with the other powerful warlocks whose offspring had just graduated the academy. She felt more like a trophy than a daughter, and somehow felt guilty that she had received the honor of valedictorian while the other men's children had not. All she wanted to do was to return home to the safety of her room. These inquisitive, judging eyes were beginning to be too much for her._

_Thankfully she'd only endured a few minutes of the aristocrats' snide leering when she felt a hand on her shoulder that tugged her backward and away from the group. She turned to find Morgana standing there with a proud smile on her face._

"_Hi, Ari."_

"_Morgana! You came!"_

"_Of course I did. I'm a little late, but I couldn't miss my little sister's graduation. I can't believe you were first in your class; that's great!" She pulled her younger sibling into a brief but heartfelt hug. "I can't say I'm surprised, though. I'm sure Father is head over heels with all of the secondhand attention he's getting."_

_Ariana half-smiled and nodded._

"_But you can admit that it's nice to have some attention, isn't it? I know I felt that way when I graduated…although I wasn't first in my class. They'll be talking about you for a long time…"_

_Ariana ducked her head slightly and felt uncomfortable, remembering Mr. Greytalon's warning earlier. "I hope not…I really just want to go home."_

"_Oh come on, Ari! It's your graduation day! Father would want you to be happy. After all…you're his favorite."_

The streets began to look familiar again the farther east she walked. Finally she was beginning to get used to the city's layout, and she knew she wasn't far from Beth's house now.

_I hope she doesn't mind me coming over without calling first…_

When she reached the front porch, she rang the doorbell and waited patiently for Beth to open the door. She hoped her friend would be pleased at her visit, even if it was sudden.

As she brushed the soaked tentacles of hair over her shoulders and away from her forehead, another thought struck her. _Oh gosh…she's probably at work. I can't bother her at work, can I? Maybe I should wait for her to get back…_ She began to shiver in the cool, damp May air, and realized she couldn't be outside much longer unless she wanted to catch cold. Her decision made for her, she turned on her heels and headed in the direction she thought Bindler's Hardware Store was.

Her shivering grew more violent the farther she walked, and it wasn't until she came to the storefront that she remembered that Beth no longer worked at Bindler's. She had quit a couple of weeks ago. Ariana felt guilty that she hadn't recalled Beth telling her this bit of information, and tried to think if Beth had mentioned anything about getting another job. Nothing came to mind.

Nothing except…

_Oh no!_

She took off as fast as she could through the city streets, puddles splashing beneath her feet as she ran. With everything that had gone on that morning, it had completely slipped her mind. Her shift at Audubon Jewelers had started hours ago.

It took her fifteen minutes to get there on foot, and she burst through the doors with the breath heaving in her overworked lungs. Josephine looked up from the display mirror she'd been looking at herself in.

"Well, look what the storm dragged in," she commented snidely. "Mrs. Pennyfeather wants to talk to you. Apparently she's been trying to call you all morning." As Ariana hurried past, she added, "Someone's in trooouuubllle…"

Anxiety was eating away at her insides, and she could feel her heart doing somersaults up and down her throat as she knocked, then entered, her boss' office. Mrs. Pennyfeather looked up from the stack of timesheets in front of her. When she realized who it was, she pursed her lips together and said curtly, "Sit."

Ariana began to shake all over, and it wasn't from the cold rainwater covering her body. She clasped her hands together tightly in a vain attempt to get a grip on herself.

"Mrs. Pennyfeather, I—"

The elderly woman raised a finger to silence her employee, staring at Ariana sternly. There wasn't an ounce of empathy or understanding on that grim face. It felt to Ariana as if the room grew suddenly icy.

"Your shift started at 8:00 a.m. You were supposed to have the store opened by then. It wasn't until Gloria came in at 10:00 that I heard that you hadn't bothered to show up."

"But I was –"

"There are no excuses for being late, especially without a simple phone call." Mrs. Pennyfeather's eyes moved quickly over Ariana. "You're obviously not ill."

"There was a rob—"

"I'm not interested. Your performance here has been a disappointment from the start, especially given your peer reviews. We have a strict no call, no show policy here that you have been aware of since day one. In accordance with that policy, I'm afraid we're letting you go."

At those words, Ariana's eyes immediately filled with tears. "No, please! It wasn't my –"

"Give me your time card and your nametag. You should receive your final paycheck in two weeks." The older duck stuck out her spindly hand expectantly.

Again, Ariana opened her mouth to try to explain. It wasn't as though she had skipped work on purpose. She'd been held hostage by a mad-duck! But the look on Mrs. Pennyfeather's face made her close her beak again. She knew it was useless to argue. Especially since she had no real proof that it had been her that Negaduck had detained.

"I…I don't have them with me…" she said softly, barely above a whisper.

The hand retracted. "Fine. You can mail them."

Wanting nothing more than to be out of that office forever, Ariana stood up and started toward the door.

"Oh, and Ariana, dear?"

She paused and turned back to look at Mrs. Pennyfeather, who had a sweet smile plastered on her wrinkled bill.

"I wish you the best of luck."

Anger pulsed through her small frame as she exited the jewelry store, and all she wanted to do was scream in outrage. Fate seemed to have something against her, and she felt that somewhere out there, whomever was puppeteering her life was laughing gleefully. Tears ran down her cheeks in tandem with the rain that still pattered on the sidewalks.

She turned to leave, but only got about two steps before a black sedan pulled up alongside her. The window slid down ominously.

"Are you Miss Ariana McCawber?" the driver asked behind large sunglasses.

She nodded, still too consumed with emotion to speak.

"I'm Agent Milcreek, SHUSH." He flashed her his identification. "We'd like to have a word with you downtown."

* * *

_Author's Note: _Once again, I'm SO sorry for the long wait between updates. I'm trying to juggle too many projects at once on top of my full-time job and social life! I hope you enjoy this update, anyway. I know it's dialogue-heavy, but we'll get to more action later on! Especially now that Ariana's being brought in to SHUSH for questioning! *Dun, dun, duuuuuun!* Please R&R, as I'm always interested to hear what my readers have to say! Thank you! :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** It's been over a year since I paid this story any attention, and I'm sorry! I hope I haven't lost any of you. It's been a hectic year and four months, but I haven't forgotten about Ariana or her story. I hope you haven't, either! Enjoy this next installment until I'm able to crank out more! Thank you for those of you who have taken the time to read and review. It's really appreciated. :)

Also, special thanks to my beta-reader and good friend, Zebeckras! You continuously inspire and encourage me more than you're probably aware.

Jake Mallard is (C) Rachel Faraday (BloodyBan) and is used with permission (go read her amazing fics!)

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

_There's a feeling_

_But you're not feeling it at all_

_There's a meaning_

_But you're not listening anymore_

_I look at that open road_

_I'm going to walk there by myself_

_And if you catch me_

_I might try to run away_

_You know I can't be here too long_

_And if you let me_

_I might try to make you stay_

_Seems you never realize_

_A good thing till it's gone_

_Maybe I'm still searching_

_But I don't know what it means_

_All the fires of destruction are still_

_Burning in my dreams_

_There's no water that can wash away_

_This longing to come clean_

~Annie Lennox, "Dark Road"

"Why are you wearing sunglasses?" Ariana asked curiously from the back seat of the sedan as it turned onto Flint Street. The tears were gone from her face, but she only found the courage to talk to this stoic man so she wouldn't have to be alone with her thoughts. The drive had been unnerving, as had the rest of her day, and any questions she'd had about why they wanted to talk to her at SHUSH were met with silence. So she'd moved on to more mundane things to keep her nerves at bay.

"It's part of the uniform," he informed her flatly.

"But it's so overcast outside…isn't it hard to see?"

"We haven't crashed yet, have we?"

The buildings had grown steadily taller and better maintained, and Ariana could tell they were in downtown St. Canard. The car slowed as they neared a stately tan structure with wide glass windows spanning the front. Above the stairway leading into the building was the golden outline of an eagle, and across it were the letters S.H.U.S.H.

"What does SHUSH stand for?"

"Huh?" the driver asked distractedly as they pulled into the parking lot. He flashed his ID at the gate attendant and whispered something to her. The guard nodded before pushing the button that allowed them access, and just as they were rounding the first bend in the lot, the front bumper edged along the back bumper of a black Aston Martin that had been parked in one of the very front spaces. A loud scraping sound could be heard, and Agent Millcreek flinched. "Oh, great. Where did that come from?" He plucked his sunglasses off of his snout and frowned. "Stupid things."

From then until they parked the warthog kept the shades tilted against his forehead rather than covering his eyes. Only when he got out to retrieve Ariana from the rear did he slide them back down. He escorted her into the building, which seemed like a vast, intricate beehive to Ariana. It felt endless, and was buzzing with agents bustling up and down the maze of hallways that sprouted off of the large entryway. They passed through security fairly quickly and he led her toward one of the front conference rooms.

"Look, don't mention anything to him about the car when you see him. I'm already on double probation."

"See who?" she asked.

"Millcreek!" a stern, harsh, and ragged voice barked from behind them. Immediately Agent Millcreek's leathery face drained of color, and they turned to see a tall white mallard with cold sea green eyes and thick, angry eyebrows glowering at them. "Do you think SHUSH parking is a game? Does it feel like the go-carts at Goony Golf when you get behind the wheel?"

"N-no, sir, I-!"

"I am _this_ close to making sure you never make it past GS-9, agent! And how many times do I have to tell you to take off those damn sunglasses? Just because they're standard issue does _not_ mean you can wear them around 24/7 like you're some kind of sorry-ass James Dean look-alike!"

The sunglasses flew off of the agent's face so quickly it was hard for Ariana to decipher whether he had taken them off or if they had just evaporated.

"Yes, sir! I-I…"

"The cost of repairing the damage to my vehicle is coming out of your pay, agent," the seething mallard snarled. "If I were you, I'd seriously rethink your position here and consider staying behind a desk, where you can't continue parading around as a public menace."

Millcreek deflated a little, and Ariana at once felt sorry for him. "Yes, sir…"

"Leave us."

As the agent moved away, Ariana could hear him muttering, "How in God's name did he _know_?"

Ariana swallowed thickly, her nerves having worsened tenfold after witnessing the rebuke. _This_ was the person that wanted to see her?

"I apologize that you had to see that, Miss McCawber," the mallard said evenly as he opened the door to the conference room and motioned for her to go in ahead of him. She did so stiffly, beginning to tremble all over from being in the presence of such a hard-nosed, unfeeling person. Once she had taken a seat at the large table, she looked over to see a wide mirror extending across the far wall. She studied it curiously. Why such a large mirror in a conference room? Normal society was so strange sometimes.

The chair across from her scraped against the tile floor as the mallard sat down, his piercing eyes studying her shrewdly. "My name is Agent Mallard. Do you know why I had you brought here?"

She shook her head and felt her throat drain of moisture. Her voice seemed to have disappeared altogether, which made her feel even smaller than she already felt.

"I want to ask you some questions about the events that transpired yesterday," he said lowly. He was taking in her every movement and reaction, and it made her want to squirm all the more under his gaze.

"All right," she replied hoarsely. A feeling of dread pitted itself in her stomach, and she hoped that she wasn't in trouble. She had only done what she thought was right.

"Where were you yesterday at 5:45 p.m.?"

"At the Sitting Duck National Bank," she answered truthfully. The last thing she wanted to do was lie to him and land herself in any legal trouble. He scared her.

"Recall for me the events that took place while you were there."

"I…I was depositing my pay…" She trailed off, remembering her earlier conversation with Mrs. Pennyfeather and feeling suddenly hurt and upset again. She pushed the emotions aside and continued. "A-and a masked duck came in with a gun, and told everyone to get on the floor."

"Do you know the masked duck's identity?"

"It was…Negaduck."

He nodded and waited for her to go on.

"He took money out of the drawers and the vault, and made us watch the news update about him."

Agent Mallard made the tiniest knowing smirk, but didn't interrupt.

"Th-then the S.W.A.T. team came in with gas, a-and he took me up to the top floor in the elevator."

"Who took you up?"

"Negaduck."

Again he nodded. The chair creaked slightly as he leaned back more comfortably and steepled his fingertips. His eyes never left her face. "What happened on the top floor?"

"We went into a corner office, and he was yelling at the police to bring him a…a warhead." She paused and looked at him curiously. "What's a warhead?"

Agent Mallard raised a brow, but waved her question off. "Nothing you need to be concerned about, Miss McCawber. Continue."

"O-okay…" She, too, shifted in her seat, but rather than feeling more comfortable she felt less so. She hoped this would be over soon. "They told him to come downstairs to get the warhead, so…so he took me back to the lobby, a-and…" She swallowed thickly, the memory of the roar of gunfire and the look of complete shock and helplessness on Negaduck's face as he fell to the floor springing into her mind.

"And?"

"And we left…"

He made a disgruntled sound and slid abrasively out of his seat. He paced the room a few times, a calculating expression on his deeply-lined face, before he whirled on her again, his grip digging into the backrest of the chair he'd abandoned. "Left _how_? The money was recovered, as was Negaduck's weapon, but there was no sign of _either_ of you. I had agents surrounding _every_ possible exit of that bank, and the S.W.A.T. officers said that it looked as though the both of you _vanished_. I don't believe in magic tricks, Miss McCawber. _How_ did you get out?"

"I…" She looked away from him and felt herself beginning to quiver in fear. What could she say? If she told him the truth, would he believe her, or think she was crazy? Would he send her to some science lab to be studied? Would he kill her right then and there? This man was dangerous; she could _feel_ it.

"Agent Mallard! Negaduck's been spotted in the east district threatening to blow up Canard Regional!"

The green-eyed mallard straightened back up and readjusted his suit jacket professionally. "Right." He pointed authoritatively at Ariana. "Don't leave town. We'll finish this discussion later. Millcreek will see you out."

As soon as Agent Mallard had left the room, Ariana exhaled and felt her anxiety escape with him. There was something about that man that was more frightening to her than any death threat. She hoped that maybe he'd forget about her and move on, but somehow she knew she would see him again.

It was raining across the city again, as it often did in the spring. Ariana had refused an offer for a ride from Agent Millcreek, and was contemplating what to do next as she wandered the city streets. She found herself running away from her problems once again, and the confrontation with Agent Mallard hadn't helped to ease her anxiety about her situation. What was going to happen now? Was she in a lot of trouble? Did they know she'd helped Negaduck? Morgana had told her this might happen, and it scared her. She had no idea how Normal society operated, especially when it came to their laws. All she had to go on what was she believed was right and wrong. Had she ruined her shot at fitting in here as she had in Duckburg?

Once again, using magic had gotten her into trouble. She'd sworn off of it, well – mostly, and she had hoped that by doing so it would prevent any repeats of that unfortunate day at McDuck Studios. Yet she continued to feel so vulnerable and misplaced in Normal society. Was she wrong about Negaduck after all? Who _could_ she trust? Agent Mallard? She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach when she thought of him, though. This whole situation made her feel lost and afraid of consequences she couldn't even be sure of. All she wanted was for this whole thing to blow over.

Maybe Morgana would know what to do, since she'd apparently had her own run-ins with Normal law. Did she want to trust her sister with this, though? Did she have a choice? McCawber Mushrooms aside, Ariana wondered what else Morgana might have been lying about. She had always trusted her sister implicitly, and that trust had been severely shaken. Everything seemed so gray now. Agent Mallard and SHUSH were on the side of the law, but didn't give her a good feeling. Negaduck was most definitely a criminal, but he _did_ give her a good feeling. Her feelings about Morgana were all over the place, and she felt frustrated and confused that she couldn't pin them down.

Never would she have even dreamed that Morgana would have been capable of the things Negaduck had accused her of, and yet…he had been right. She and Morgana had been _so_ close growing up; Ariana had believed things would still be the same. But they weren't. How could they be? They hadn't _really_ spent time together since the summer before Ariana had graduated from Webminster. Their correspondence afterward hadn't been as consistent as either one had hoped, but surely Morgana couldn't have changed _that_ much in two years! Unless she'd been keeping those changes from Ariana. Considering this, Ariana felt angry and betrayed all over again. There had to be a reason for all this… Maybe Morgana had been forced or tricked into it. If that was the case, then maybe with Ariana's help, Morgana could make things right. They could start up a new enterprise…pay everyone back, and then some. And if they did that, maybe…maybe the people of St. Canard would accept them whole-heartedly. Maybe Agent Mallard would forget about her and any involvement she had with Negaduck. They could be part of a community…like a family. They could be like everyone else.

Now that she had some time to herself, Ariana plopped down on the next soggy bench she came to and collected her thoughts without giving thought to how drenched she became. Had she overreacted? There had been so many things happening to her – bank hostage, lost job, interrogation, sibling betrayal - that she wasn't sure. She still felt strongly that what Morgana had done was wrong, and that Morgana should make amends. Maybe her sister had known Ariana would react this way and didn't want to disappoint her, which Ariana could understand, but she still wished Morgana had told her she needed help and money before going to the extreme of stealing. Ariana also didn't like the fact that her sister had dragged her familiars, Eek and Squeak, into it.

She felt a bit silly now for her outburst and for hightailing it out of there the way she had, and she felt guilty at the possibility that she'd hurt Morgana's feelings. Maybe when she went back they could talk about it more calmly now that it was out in the open. Then they could discuss her idea of making reparations…

"A little far from home, aren't you, little girl?" a voice purred lowly beside her head, chilling her insides.

Immediately she turned and jumped off of the bench.

"Who-?"

"Give me all your money, and if you even try to resist, we'll take more than that."

She took two steps backward as the unknown canine pulled out a switchblade, and bumped into another, similarly dressed, lowlife.

"Goin' somewhere?" he inquired smoothly.

"I…I don't have any money."

It was the truth. Everything she had she'd either left at the bank or at Morgana's.

"Hmmm…why don't I believe you?" the first thug drawled.

"Maybe 'cause that's the first thing everyone says," the other answered with a threatening glare down at Ariana. She barely stood up to their shoulders.

"I know!" said the first, feigning an epiphany. "Let's see what she's got under that pretty dress…"

The bulldog behind her sniffed her blonde hair deeply. "She smells like the inside of Momma's purse…"

"Don't! Please!" Ariana cried softly, so afraid that even her voice shrank away.

The one behind her latched onto her arms while his partner advanced and grabbed the bodice of her dress.

"I'm gonna enjoy this…"

"Not as much as _I_ will!" another, darker, voice cut in from above. Standing in the shadows of a fire escape crouched a midnight figure with glowing red eyes.

"Beat it!" the knife-wielder snapped. "Get your own victim!"

The mysterious figure rose to his full height, gripping a rusted machete and glowering at them before leaping down from his position and into the light, revealing his identity. Although his stature wasn't terribly impressive, his reputation was widely feared throughout the region.

"Negaduck!" both Ariana and her captors cried. While the two dogs' expressions held terror, hers held surprise and relief. This was the second time he'd come to her rescue.

"Back off, you buffoons, before I cut you into kibble!" He swung the machete in his hand warningly.

"Let's get outta here!" Both hoodlums sprinted down the nearest alleyway, their frightened footfalls echoing off the brick buildings.

Ariana instantly felt a lot of weight fly from her shoulders, and she actually smiled at the villain. "Thank you so much, I—"

"What are you doing back in this neighborhood?" he snarled, pointing the machete at her.

"I…" she faltered, unprepared for his brash attitude. "I w-was…" She stopped again before spouting guiltily, "You were right about Morgana."

"Of course I was," he replied smugly, lowering the weapon. "I don't lie _all_ the time, y'know." A dark chuckle escaped his bill, and he eyed her curiously. "So why come back here?" he asked again.

"I ran away," she answered slowly, feeling ashamed to admit it. "Then an agent from SHUSH wanted to ask me questions about the bank, and –"

"What agent? What did you tell him?" Negaduck cut in urgently, an undercurrent of menace in his voice. His grip on the machete tightened.

"A-Agent Mallard. I told him everything…well…" she said.

The sharp end of the weapon flew up toward her face. "If you told him where my hideout is, I'm going to –"

"I didn't tell him _that_," she retorted, folding her arms. "He never asked."

He smirked and lowered the weapon again. "Smart girl. SO, you ran away, huh? _Brilliant_ move." His tone was snide, but Ariana chose to ignore it since he was right. It hadn't been the smartest decision.

"I'll go back," she said, as if trying to justify it. "We'll make things right."

"Oh, I see…" That snide tone again. "You'll help her rectify all her petty crimes, is that it? And then everyone can live happily ever after." When she nodded hesitantly he looked disgusted. "Oh puh-_lease_. As if it's so easy. And besides…does she even _want_ to?"

"I'm sure she does." She hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. The day's events had thoroughly shaken her sense of reality.

"We'll see about that. But next time you feel like running away, why not skip the brute squad drama and look me up? You know where."

"But I thought you didn't want me to trespass—"

"Hey, I'm Negaduck!" he snapped, though at the same time his voice was dripping with conceit. "There _are_ no rules. Now beat it! And don't make me come after you again."

With a flourish of his cape, he took off toward the nearby alleyway while she headed in the direction of McCawber Manor. From behind a dumpster, he watched her disappear before he let a wicked chuckle escape his bill. The laugh was cut short when he noticed two large shadows looming over him. He whirled, machete at the ready, and bared his teeth, prepared for a fight.

When the two assailants from just a few minutes before put their hands up in surrender, Negaduck let out an irritated growl. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry."

"At any rate, here's your reward for scaring the girl. You both passed with flying colors."

"A measly fifty bucks? We agreed on five hundred!"

The machete ripped through the air, lopping off the top half of both thugs' hairstyles. They both froze in fright and stared at the public enemy.

"You're lucky I didn't aim lower! Now _scram_!" He swung multiple more times after them, chasing them off. It wasn't until after the two goons had disappeared from view that Negaduck grinned and another dark chuckle came out. "Wait'll they realize that fifty was counterfeit…"

* * *

As she neared the home of her elder sister, Ariana could feel less and less of the late afternoon sun against her feathers. The weather had finally given way to beautiful spring warmth, and she had started to dry off along with the city streets. The air grew chill around her as she approached the high iron gate that led into the grounds. When she stepped in, the sunlight disappeared and gave way to a steady downpour of rain. Ariana sulked briefly at being wet again, but as she walked she noticed there was no lightening or thunder. There was simply a cascade of water that showered the dead grass with melancholic futility. At once she felt guilty. Morgana was depressed.

"Morgana?" she called as she entered, her spirits having improved significantly since her departure. There was no need for a key – they opened and locked the doors with spells. Even though this technically violated her vow to cease all magic use, she felt it was a tiny enough infraction to be negligible.

"Morgana?" she called again, her voice carrying up the rickety staircase.

"Ari…?" Her sister's green eyes peered tentatively toward her from the top of the stairs, and Ariana restrained herself from running straight to her. "Are you…still mad?" Then, without waiting for Ariana's reply, she rushed, "Look, I'm sorry about what happened before, and that you had to find out the way you did. I should have told you, but I really liked owning my own business and I figured I wasn't really _hurting_ anyone… And, to be honest, I was enjoying myself. I…_liked_ taking things from people, things I thought I deserved. But I…I've met someone that may have changed all that…"

Ariana had wanted to interject into Morgana's monologue with her idea of reparations, but her sister's last comment threw off her train of thought, and she raised an eyebrow. "You met someone? When, today?" How long had she been gone?

Morgana nodded, then shook her head quickly. "Well, not today, no. We met a couple of months ago…he's someone who intrigues me, and who likes me even though I'm technically a criminal. In fact, I think understands me better than anyone I've ever met. It's because of him - and you – that from now I've decided to go straight. I won't steal any more money, and I'm going to try making my own through a legitimate business, without resorting to crime." She smiled, looking pleased with herself. "What do you think?"

"You've only known him for a couple of months…? Who is he?" Ariana tried to keep the dubiousness out of her voice.

"I don't see him that often because of his work, but when I _do_ see him…" She sighed heavily, pulling at an emotion at the back of Ariana's mind that Ariana fought to suppress. "I think I'm in love with him."

The younger sister had to force herself not to roll her eyes, and instead put on a congratulatory smile. "That's great, Morgana." The fact that Morgana had passed over her second question didn't really make a difference to her. "And once you have the new business up and running, you can make reparations for…well, for the past."

Her sister's brow creased slightly. "What do you mean?"

"You know…give that money back. Make amends. Donate it to a charity or do something good for the community with it."

"You mean you're not going to turn me in?"

Taken aback, Ariana stared at Morgana before shaking her head. "No, I…I was hurt before. I don't want you to get in trouble, I just…I want things to be right."

"Me too," Morgana confessed. "But it's going to be hard. I'm just so used to doing things…the other way. It's a lot easier to just take something when I need it."

Ariana nodded. "Well, we'll help each other! Come on…let's make some spider leg stew. Just make sure Archie stays out of the kitchen."

Morgana grinned. "I'd like that."

* * *

_Whispers of spider webs grazed the top of Morgana's lustrous midnight hair as she wafted through the doorway of her younger sister's bedroom, humming happily to herself. She paused, however, when she laid eyes on Ariana, who was hunched on the edge of her bed, weeping softly._

"_Ari? What's wrong?"_

_As Morgana floated nearer, Ariana quickly wiped the escaping tears from her eyes and looked up at her sister, mustering a small smile._

"_Nothing! I'm fine."_

_A skeptical expression flitted across Morgana's face, but nonetheless she returned the smile, which was pressed with anticipation. "I'm going out with Gruenen in a few minutes. We're going to see that new thriller starring Frankenduck!" She clasped her slender hands together with a dreamy expression and sighed. " I think I might kiss him later! …Are you sure you're all right?"_

_Ariana nodded feebly and felt as if a jagged stone were constricting her throat._

"_Well, if you're sure…"_

_The haunting chimes of the McCawbers' doorbell sounded, and Morgana's face lit up in sharp contrast to the crestfallen look on Ariana's._

_Muffled voices filled with anxiety drifted up to Ariana's ears a few moments after Morgana had gone to answer the door, and she thought her stomach had surely plummeted through the floor with the weight of her envy. It had been so easy for Morgana to leave her, so easy for Morgana to pass over her emotions as if they hardly mattered. True, she had asked Ariana what was wrong, but anyone could tell by the scarcely concealed excitement on Morgana's face that she was asking out of duty more than anything. That was what bothered Ariana the most. Did her sister really even care?_

_Slowly she rose from the bed and, as silently as she could, she slipped down next to the railing of the upper level overlooking the entryway. Peering through the spindles, she watched Morgana and her latest boyfriend laugh and flirt with one another, and felt an indescribable yearning seize her. She wanted to have that look Morgana had on her face, she wanted to feel that happiness Morgana was radiating, and she wanted to experience that mutual spark of attraction that was flickering in their eyes. She wanted to be Morgana right now._

_How did she do it? How did Morgana manage to find boy after boy who seemed to worship the ground she walked on? The flame of jealousy burned agonizingly inside of Ariana. She was lucky to even make _eye contact_ with an attractive guy._

_The laughter abruptly grew muffled with the snap of the closed door, yet the sound of it seemed to echo hollowly in Ariana's ears. Her heart ached so much she felt it might burst at any moment. The familiar sting of tears burned her eyes, and she backed away from the railing as if retreating from a nightmare._

_Why was Morgana always the lucky one?_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Twelve**

_She turns up the light  
Anticipating night falling tenderly around her  
Watches the dusk  
The words won't come  
She carries the act so convincingly  
The fact is sometimes she believes it  
She can be happy with the way things are  
Be happy with the things she's done_

_And yet I need not to need_  
_Or else a love with intuition_  
_Someone who reaches out to my weakness_  
_And won't let go_  
_I need not to need_  
_I've always been the tower_  
_But now I feel like I'm the flower trying to bloom in snow_

_Reach out, hold back_  
_Where is safety_  
_Reach out and hold back_  
_Where is the one who can change me_  
_Where is the one_  
_The one_

_~Vienna Teng, "The Tower"_

It didn't take Ariana long to find a new job, and she was surprised that she had been given the chance, since she wasn't very good at selling herself. The Sitting Duck National Bank had been in need of tellers since Negaduck's robbery. Since her first day, Ariana found herself almost esteemed among her co-workers; many were impressed that she was still alive. Everyone was so nice and accommodating to her, it was a little unnerving. Their kindness did, however, inspire her to learn more about Normal culture. Even though she had been living among them for the past two years, she hadn't felt a _part_ of them until now. She was so overjoyed that she decided to spread it around. Using a recipe that had been her mother's, she baked two batches of Goblin Wart cookies: one for Beth and the other for the mallard who had twice spared her life. After dropping off the batch for Beth at her home, she made her way on foot to the Bad Part of Town, hoping to run into Negaduck.

As she approached the building she knew to be his hideout, she felt her insides twist. Would he be happy to see her? He had practically invited her over, and she wasn't sure what that meant. If he was all bad like Morgana said, he wouldn't have chased off those muggers. But how had he known where she was? Had he been following her? Protecting her? The thought brought warmth to her cheeks, and she recognized a feeling inside her she hadn't felt since Devin Crawler. Could he…_like_ her?

She shook her head sharply. It couldn't be. Why would he like _her_? She was no one special. Only, well…he _had_ kept calling her "pretty." Was it possible…?

Someone pushed past her roughly, nearly causing the covered platter of goodies to topple from her hands, and she decided it was time to enter the warehouse despite her anxiety.

"H-hello?" she called warily into the darkness of the dilapidated building. Silence was the only response, and she gathered her courage to step past the broken, knife-like shards of wood blocking the entrance. "Negaduck?" Her voice echoed timidly off of the vast, empty walls and disappeared into the air like a wisp of smoke.

Her feet took her farther inside, toward the crumbling staircase that led to the manager's office Negaduck used as his own. Before she realized what was happening, something thick and rough had her by the ankle and yanked her up into the air. She hung there upside-down, feeling surprised and disoriented, her hair dangling from her head like Spanish moss. The cookies she'd baked were strewn out haphazardly beneath her, and she struggled to keep her skirt from flopping down too far and revealing too much.

There was a low, dark cackle, and the office door burst open. "Ha! I got you _this_ time, you purple pansy!" Negaduck pulled a chainsaw from behind his back and revved it with a demonic glint in his beady eyes. As soon as he focused on Ariana, however, he lowered the weapon disappointedly. "Oh, it's you."

She smiled, trying not to show how uncomfortable she was with the blood rushing to her head. "Hello! I…brought you something."

He looked at her skeptically, then noticed the baked goods at his feet. Picking one up, he eyed it with a curled bill, but bit off a taste wordlessly. His eyes brightened only slightly, and he carelessly cut her down with the chainsaw. She fell into a heap and sat up, rubbing her head and arm where they had hit the concrete. She watched him collect a few more cookies before disappearing back into his office. Once she could stand without feeling dizzy, she followed.

"Do you…like them?" she asked, though the answer was obvious from the way he was wolfing them down.

"I've had better," he replied after licking off his fingers one at a time. She didn't have time to react to the remark before he continued. "C'mere, I wanna show you something."

Eagerly, she complied, moving forward and leaning over the desk next to him.

"See this?" He was pointing at a copy of the _Canardian Times_, the front page proclaiming the arrival of a rare map collection. "It's always been a…dream of mine to, uh…_study_ a particular map that will be on display tonight at the museum gala."

"What kind of map?" Her eyes were lit up with interest.

"None of your business!" he snapped, then restrained his anger with a pained expression. "It's a…a family heirloom – yeah – that was, uh…lost decades ago until now."

"Can't you ask for it back if it's your family's?" Her question was so innocent and naïve, it make him grit his teeth together.

"Nooooooo, it belongs to the museum now. Besides, you really think they'd give something so valuable willingly to _me_? The city's greatest criminal mastermind?" Although his tone was smug and condescending, Ariana felt her heart go out to him.

"That's not fair! If it's in your family it's rightfully yours no matter who you are!"

"It doesn't matter," he whined pathetically. "I'll never get in there past all those people and all those guards to even get a _look_ at it."

Ariana straightened with resolution and placed her hand delicately on his forearm. "I'll help you. You should at least be able to look at your own family's map."

"Oh no, I could _never_ ask you to do something like that!" He slid his arm out from under her hand and put it dramatically across his forehead.

"No, I want to. Really."

"Great, meet me in the alley at Gladstone for the gala."

She blinked. "Gala…?"

"Yeah, you know. A fancy shindig those yuppie snobs put on to show off how much money they have to one another."

Her face flushed. "You mean you want me to go with you like a…like a date?"

He struggled to keep the disgust from his face. He wanted so badly to rail against this girl's abundant sweetness, but he needed her. More specifically, her magic. "Yeah, sure, whatever."

She beamed and threw her arms around his neck. "Oh, thank you! I've never been to a gala before!" She didn't seem to notice him attempting to claw his way out of her grip.

* * *

It had taken every bit of savings she had, but Ariana had found the perfect gown to wear to the gala. The dress was simple, elegant, and flattering on her lithe frame, even though when she had fussed over it in front of the mirror all she had seen were the flaws. Her mind kept returning to the night of the Winter Solstice Dance at Webminster, and what a disaster it had been. Everything she had worried about going wrong had gone wrong, and she was gripped with fear that events would repeat themselves at this formal event.

She was grateful that Morgana was out – most likely on a date with her latest suitor – so Ariana could avoid a barrage of questioning about the dress, where she was wearing it to, and who she would be with. Especially since the robbery, her sister had become overly controlling and nosy, and while Ariana knew it was out of love, it didn't make it any less aggravating.

Her heels clicked smartly against the pavement, and Ariana silently wished she felt as confident as the shoes made her sound. Gladstone Street was a few blocks away from the St. Canard Museum of Natural History, and it never occurred to Ariana why this would be an odd location to meet for the gala. Her mind was entirely too fixated on the idea that this was going to be her first real date, and there were so many emotions vying for control of her body that she couldn't exactly pinpoint how she was feeling. All of the movies and television shows she'd seen throughout her lifetime involving romance and dating scrambled wildly across her memory as she tried to grasp some semblance of what it was she was supposed to do or say. The last thing she wanted was to ruin the evening the way she had in school.

She paused at the mouth of the alleyway at Gladstone, and peered inside timidly. It was pitch black in the narrow space, and it didn't help that there was no moon.

"You're punctual," a voice remarked darkly from behind her, causing her to jump. "I like that in a woman."

The jolt to her nerves faded when she recognized the voice and turned to see Negaduck standing behind her wearing a tuxedo instead of his usual yellow and red getup. He also wore a tall black hat, the brim of which seemed to melt into the black mask that still shrouded his eyes, and Ariana was struck by the intensity of his blue irises amidst the darkness. She could feel herself blush at his remark, but he pressed on without seeming to notice.

"Okay, so here's the plan. We go inside, blend in with the rest of those upper crust yahoos, then you're going to do a bit of hocus pocus so I can get past security."

She blinked. "Past security? But isn't that…I mean…w-won't you just be able to see it…inside?" Her voice grew smaller the farther along she got, and Negaduck's brow increasingly shifted lower over his eyes.

"Don't you get it?" he snapped. "That thing'll be surrounded by the best alarm systems money can buy! I won't be able to so much as _breathe_ on the map without triggering them." He paused, then his voice gradually grew more coaxing. "I need a way to get past those sensors, and you're going to help me, riiiiight?"

There was still something in his tone Ariana didn't like. When he noticed the reluctance still in her face, he changed his approach. "Oh, you're having seconds thoughts, aren't you? You're just like the rest of St. Canard – you don't _trust_ me…! Even where my own family heirlooms are involved!" He sulked pathetically, his beak trembling.

Ariana caved. "Oh, no, no – it's not that! I just…don't want to get either of us in any trouble…"

"Hey, you forget, I'm a master criminal…" He flashed her a devious, yet charming, smirk. "What could happen?"

She nearly fainted when he offered her his arm. Had she not heard her heels clicking again against the sidewalk, she would have sworn she was walking on air. She felt so deliriously giddy, like she could take on the world and that there would be no more sadness or pain in her life. Everything would be perfect as long as their arms were intertwined and she had him by her side. It felt so…right. So…magical.

When they neared the doorman who was checking the invitation list, Negaduck handed him a pair of tickets with a scheming smirk.

"Go right ahead inside, Mr…Schnozelberg," the doorman's nasally voice said as they passed by. Negaduck couldn't help but allow himself a dark chuckle as they went.

"Schnozelberg?" Ariana whispered to him curiously once they were inside.

Negaduck shrugged. "Hey, they were the only tickets I could swipe – er - _buy_ on such short notice." He was hoping she wouldn't press the name, and he was relieved when she didn't. The last thing he needed was for her to poke around looking for more information , but she seemed to be distracted by the vast foyer of the museum that connected the building's voluminous wings.

"Ooohhhh…" she breathed with wonder. She turned around in circles as her head craned back to take in the gigantic fresco on the domed ceiling. She had never imagined modern Normal architecture could be so astounding. As she absorbed her elegant surroundings, she forgot to be nervous about what they had come there to do. In fact, for the moment she had completely forgotten about the plan as she admired the décor. She was so enthralled that she didn't realize she was backing up toward a server with a platter of champagne glasses balanced neatly on his palm.

Just millimeters away from collision, Negaduck grabbed her gloved hand and yanked her toward him. "What are you doing?!" he hissed dangerously. "Do you want to get busted before we've even seen the map?"

"No…" She felt her cheeks redden with guilt. "I'm sorry. It's just so beautiful in here."

He fitted his top hat on more tightly and ignored her comments, scanning the room for any sign of where his quarry lay. Apparently there was quite a collection that had come to St. Canard, but luckily for him, it was grouped into sections labeled by banners that hung overhead from the intricately carved marble rafters.

"There…" He practically drooled with desire as he spotted a banner labeled _Maps_.

Ariana felt her stomach twist with a burst of excitement as he snatched her hand again and practically pulled her toward the far corner of the foyer. He was so eager, and she felt so incredibly delighted that he would include her in something that meant this much to him. He must really like her. The thought sent another wave of euphoria through her, and she became light-headed.

When they reached the spot he wanted, he leaned in toward her conspiratorially, and she mirrored him. "The map is in that display over there," he said, and jerked his head to one side suggestively. "Time to prep those magic fingers, dollface."

She looked around slowly. There were a few people milling about the display he'd mentioned, and they seemed to have a nice enough view of the map…Maybe he was looking for something more specific, like a watermark or a cipher. It was his map, anyway…right? Why did she feel suddenly so reluctant?

"Okay, no one's looking," he said hurriedly. "Do it now."

"I…I don't know… There's something I should probably te—"

"_Now_."

The demand tugged at something weak in her, and she obeyed.

"_Reditus terræ, exaudi placito involutum omnibus in invisibilitate._"

Almost immediately, Negaduck became invisible. When he looked down at himself and realized this, he chuckled lowly before heading in the direction of his desire.

Ariana closed her eyes, and tried to swallow the nausea surfacing. She hadn't had the chance to explain to him how magic-wielding worked, and the thought of doing so hadn't crossed her mind until she'd been about to cast the invisibility spell. Nervous energy grew inside her as she concentrated on keeping the spell going. Would she be able to do this?

As Negaduck neared the display, he waved his hand in front of one of the laser perimeters and waited. Nothing happened. "Heh, heh…why didn't I find this sappy witch sooner?" he said gleefully under his breath.

"What did you say?" an onlooker near Negaduck piped up to a guard standing listlessly across from him.

The guard shrugged.

"Hmph." The penguin sniffed haughtily and exited the corridor.

"Ring, ring!" Negaduck piped up loudly, imitating a telephone. "Ring, ring! Phone call for the map guard, line one!"

"Oh, that must be my wife!" The guard perked up and wandered toward the phone box set back in the wall on the far end.

Keeping one eye on the guard, Negaduck carefully picked the lock on the glass case housing the map. It sprung open easily. He rubbed his hands together with a smug grin, then reached inside. As soon as his hands were on it, he noticed something that made him very unhappy. His feathers were flickering before him. Hastily he rolled up his prize and stuffed it into the breast pocket of his tux. Just as he was beginning to become visible again, he turned and stalked away from the empty display, but not before tripping the security alarm.

He cursed and looked down, realizing his foot had passed right through a laser sensor. Cover blown, his fuming eyes searched for the witch who had betrayed him. He caught a glimpse of her passed out where he had left her, a couple of bystanders trying to rouse her. The alarm was drawing the attention of everyone in the room, and he knew he had to act fast if he wanted to escape.

"Hey! That guy's trying to steal that artifact!" a random onlooker cried. The crowd surged forward.

"Uh oh…" Negaduck managed to croak as he backpedaled.

Just then, the guard he'd fooled came back onto the scene, scratching his head. "Must've been a wrong number…"

The criminal backed straight into the man, and stumbled flat on his keister with an agitated grunt. The impact knocked the top hat off of his head, and there was a massive gasp.

"That's Negaduck!"

"Somebody do something!"

"He's got the Map of Gadwall!"

"Call 911!"

Negaduck snarled at the mob blocking his way out, and swiftly picked himself back up and raced across the room toward a large stained glass window. As he went, he made sure to topple every priceless vase he passed out of sheer spite. He was mere steps away from leaping through the pane before a cloud of blue smoke appeared directly in his path.

"I am the terror that flaps in the night! I am the mummy who keeps YOU under wraps! I am…Darkwiiiiing Duck!" The smoke cleared and revealed an arrogantly smirking duck who looked remarkably like Negaduck, save the color of his costume.

The criminal skidded to a stop and scowled. "Great, not YOU!"

"Going somewhere, Negaduck?"

"I was just _leaving_!" he snapped as he grabbed a nearby mace from a medieval exhibit and took a swing at the hero.

"Gah!" Darkwing yelped, dodging just in time to miss the brunt of it. He reached over and snatched a rapier from the wall. "En guarde!"

With a growl, Negaduck heaved the spiked weapon at his foe time and time again, growing increasingly frustrated by Darkwing's ability to parry and lunge away from each attempt.

"Ha! Give it up, Negaduck! My superior swordplay skills are sure to stop your sinister scheme!"

"Oh yeah? Well eat mace!" The villain flung the weapon directly at the do-gooder's head, and Darkwing barely had enough time to duck.

"Yipe!"

The mace caught his fedora, and pinned it just over the top of the Moona Lisa's head.

While Darkwing was caught off guard, Negaduck took the opportunity to crash through the stained glass window, creating an exit for himself. "Sayonara, suckers!" he shouted scornfully behind him.

He didn't realize until it was too late that he was headed right for a trio of police officers, ready and waiting to catch him. "No, no, no, no!" he cried, scrambling in midair to change course.

Too late. Three sets of hands latched on to him, and despite his ferocious fighting, he was handcuffed and tossed into the back of the waiting paddy wagon.

Inside, Ariana was beginning to stir, and the group of faces hovering over her were hazy and out of focus.

"Miss? Miss, are you all right?"

"She must've fainted from all the commotion."

"I don't blame her! That Negaduck is a fiend!"

It felt as though every spark of energy had been sapped from her, and all of their voices sounded muffled and distant. Everything was fuzzy, and it took her a few moments for the fog in her head to dissipate.

"Where…?" she managed weakly.

An uppercrust woman leaned forward and took her hand sympathetically. "I would have fainted, too, at the sight of that horrible blackguard Negaduck."

Ariana felt a jolt of memory and sat up. "Negaduck?!"

"That's right, dear," the woman continued, "but don't go fretting about him. The police carted that cad away, and good riddance! Can ye' walk?"

With the woman's help, Ariana managed to stand, although it only made her feel more nauseous and hollow. A million different thoughts and emotions were vying for her attention, and she felt torn in every direction as it all came back.

She'd been helping Negaduck get a glimpse of his family's map, and she'd been in the midst of a spell…nothing after that. Gut-wrenching guilt gripped her suddenly, and she knew she'd failed him.

"Where did they take him?"

"Why, to the Calisota County Jail, I imagine. Yeh've nothing ta fear." The woman looked at her uncertainly. "Are ye sure yer all right? I can get one of those medics over here before the police interview yeh."

"I-interview?" she responded faintly, feeling a rock forming in the pit of her stomach. There was no way to explain why she was there, especially with someone else's name on her ticket, and she'd never been very good at lying. The _last _thing she wanted to do was talk to the authorities. Least of all…

Her heart stopped when she noticed a familiar SHUSH agent barking orders not too far off. Panic seized her, and although she still felt incredibly ill and weak, she stumbled away from the concerned matron and hurried out of the chaos and left behind the whirl of flashing lights before she could be noticed.

She had to help Negaduck.

* * *

It was well past midnight, and the public enemy had been behind bars for at least 24 hours. As Ariana stared at the grounds of the jail, she considered her options for the thousandth time. He wouldn't be in jail at all if it hadn't been for her, and people were wrong to judge him for what he'd tried to do at the museum. After all, he'd only been there to _look_ at the map, not steal it or destroy it, and it was _his_ map to begin with. She felt pity eke into her system, mixing with the guilt and strengthening her resolve. What she was about to do may not necessarily be lawful, but for her the ends justified the means. It was _her_ fault he was in there, and she had to be the one to set things right.

A moment passed, which she used to steady herself, then she was moving like a specter through the knee-high weeds toward the barbed wire fence lining the perimeter. Searchlights lit up the surrounding area, and she was careful to stay out of their vigilant glare. She paused a moment with her back against the concrete wall, trying to calm the heady detachment she was experiencing. The coolness of the hard rock against her flesh sent shivers up her spine and grounded her at once. She had to stay collected and in control, otherwise this would be for nothing.

It didn't take her long to get inside undetected. With a few small, simple spells she had managed to smuggle herself into the ventilation system, and she was now trying not to gag on the horrid stench of mold, body odor, and rotting food that wafted through the confining ducts. As she scooted through the tight air shaft, Ariana considered how like navigating the haunted crevices of McCawber Castle this was. Just the thought of the beloved pastime renewed her courage, and she squirmed around a tight bend in the tunnel. The moist metallic plates kissed her clothes and flesh, sucking her to the walls and making it difficult to keep moving.

The distant, muffled sound of voices drifted up through a nearby vent, and Ariana paused, trying to keep her breathing controlled and quiet so she wouldn't be discovered. It sounded like two jail guards.

"I can't believe I have to work a double shift _again_."

"Yeah. Ever since they caught Negaduck, we've had nothing but increased security and no sleep."

"When are they transferring him to Albatross Island?"

"In the morning."

"He's in B-52, right now, right?"

"For now. I just hope they put tranqs in his food so we can have peace and quiet. I hate the things he says about my mother."

"Yeah, me too…"

Her heart raced in anticipation, and she could feel heat rising from her breast as she followed the sounds of the conversation, cautiously sliding her way through the ductwork and praying it wouldn't give beneath her. Most of the inmates were asleep, so there weren't any real competing sounds. She ran in to trouble only when there was a lapse in the conversation, but they didn't last long. Both guards seemed on edge, and tired. Talking kept them awake, and Ariana was grateful she had decided to come at this time rather than earlier.

She neared a small grate and peered through. Both guards were lanky except for bulging bellies, indicating they didn't see a lot of physical activity, and they both had bags beneath their eyes. While they were busy sending off the evening shift, Ariana scuttled slowly forward toward a section of the air vents she hoped was directly over Negaduck's cell. There was another small vent, and she spied eagerly through the miniscule slits. She nearly screamed in shock when she was greeted by another set of eyes on the other side, but she managed to stifle it. The person on the other side wasn't so lucky. He cried out and flailed on the small tower of furniture he'd managed to create, and fell backwards with a heavy thud. Footsteps raced toward the cell door, and there were voices.

"What's going on in there?"

"I'm baking snickerdoodles; what's it look like?!" a sardonic, growly voice snapped from inside the cell. Though her view was limited by the small slats, she could see a nasty red bump forming on its owner's masked head.

"What imbecile let him have furniture in his cell?" one of the guards barked.

"Well, it's not supposed to be moveable…" the other replied slowly.

"Get in there and get it out. We can't take any chances; he's escaped every other time."

"Yeah, and _this_ time won't be any different!" Ariana couldn't help but feel relieved when she saw his face clearly. Negaduck snarled as he stood up and rubbed his behind. "You buffoons can't hold me in here."

"Dawson, Creed, hold him while Cluff and I clear out anything he can use to escape."

"Why do I have to hold him?"

"Fine. _I'll_ do it. Now get in there!"

There was a fumbling of keys.

Negaduck braced himself. "Just _try_ and hold me back, you paisley pus—"

There was a sickening _thwack_ followed by a painful wheeze. The guard pulled back his baton with a smirk, and Ariana had to clamp her hands over her bill to keep from protesting. A wave of anguish and outrage rolled over her, and she felt herself quake with emotion. If she were any other sorceress she might have turned them all into newts. As it was, she was helpless while she watched the guards take turns jabbing the public enemy with their nightsticks. Each of Negaduck's agonized grunts equaled a stab to her heart, and she felt an anger she hadn't felt in years bubble up inside of her. She had to clench one fist tightly to keep control of herself. It would do neither her nor Negaduck any good if she did something to put herself in jail with him. Besides, there were other ways of helping her friend. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

A blinding blue-white light flashed through the cell.

"Dah!" Negaduck had to cover his eyes before his retinas burned off. When he dared peek, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "What the - ?"

The guards were completely frozen in mid-action, staring forward at the villain and yet not seeing him. It was as if someone had hit "pause" on the world. He waved his hand in front of the nearest guard hesitantly.

"Uh…hello?"

"Negaduck!" a woman's voice hissed.

"Who's in there?" he demanded, jerking his head upward toward the source of the voice.

"It's me…" Ariana hissed again, although with the guards frozen there was really no need.

There was a small grunt, then the vent above his head shifted to reveal a young face with bright silver eyes.

"You?!" Negaduck couldn't help but sputter incredulously. She was the _last_ person he'd expected to see in a jail cell.

She climbed out of the shaft and dropped next to him, feeling her stomach begin to do flip-flops at seeing him again. The dangerous predicament they were in didn't help her anxiety, either.

"We have to hurry," she replied breathlessly. "I don't think I can hold the spell much longer…"

"What are you _doing_ here?!" he cried, still in shock.

"It's my fault you're here; I should've explained how magic works. Now come on, before I lose it again." She looked around urgently, then paused. She hadn't thought of a way to get back up into the air vents once she'd gotten out. Just when she was about to admit her failure, Negaduck folded his arms and smirked. While he _loathed_ accepting help from _anyone_, he was intelligent enough to see the bigger picture here.

"First jailbreak, eh dollface?" he observed slyly.

She felt her face redden with embarrassment, but before she could apologize for letting him down again, a large black bomb appeared in his palm.

"Luckily I'm always prepared with a Plan B - boring and predictable…but effective." Just where he'd gotten it from was a mystery, as he was wearing a pale blue jumpsuit instead of the suit he'd been arrested in. She had thought since he didn't have his disguise anymore that all of his belongings had also been taken by the authorities. One of her delicate eyebrows rose.

"Where did that come from?"

Negaduck looked at her pointedly before lighting it with a match that had also seemingly appeared out of thin air. "You don't wanna know…"

Her face drained of color. He held his free arm across her body before hurtling the bomb toward the cement wall of his cell. In the instant it exploded, Negaduck turned and huddled away from the blast with her curled beneath him in his arms. It was downright terrifying to Ariana to be caught up in all of this, yet those five seconds in his arms made everything all right again.

Alarms began blaring throughout the facility, and Negaduck shook the rubble from his back and helped her to her feet. The grin he gave her was filled with adrenaline and mischief.

"C'mon, dollface. Let's blow this joint."

* * *

_**Author's** **Note:** _I apologize for the ridiculously long wait AGAIN! Life has been nuts, and I've neglected my poor characters as a result. Is anyone still reading this? I hope so... I have a lot of fun writing it. Please R&R and let me know you're out there!


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